News

President Trump Saturday signed into law a bill extending the Paycheck Protection Program—an emergency federal loan facility for small businesses struggling because of the pandemic—for another five weeks until August 8, buying Congress time to figure out what the next round of aid for small businesses will look like when it reconvenes later this month to hash out more stimulus legislation.

KEY FACTS:

• The PPP was originally slated to close down last Tuesday.

• The Senate unexpectedly approved the new legislation by unanimous consent on Tuesday evening, and the House followed suit on Wednesday.

• Some $130 billion in loan money allocated to the $670 billion program remains unspent.

• When Congress returns from its July 4th holiday recess, it must figure out how to allocate the remaining money and determine the next steps for federal aid to small businesses.

• Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has said that the next round of small business aid will need to be “more targeted” to the specific industries that are struggling the most, like hotels and restaurants.

• Another popular Democratic proposal would allow businesses with fewer than 100 employees to take out a second PPP loan from the remaining funds.