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WASHINGTON – Thousands of small businesses scrambling to stay afloat as a result of COVID-19 are getting extra time to apply for low-interest loans.

By a 92-7 margin, the Senate passed a bill Thursday extending until May 31 the deadline for Paycheck Protection Program applications. The popular Small Business Administration program was scheduled to sunset Wednesday, a timeline that could have prevented some 190,000 small businesses who have pending PPP applications from securing a loan.

The PPP Extension Act of 2021 also gives the SBA an additional 30 days beyond May 31 to process those loans. The House-passed measure now goes to President Joe Biden for his signature.

Maryland Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin, who chairs the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Committee, said it's crucial the program be extended given recent eligibility changes and the large number of first-time applicants still seeking help, including the self-employed.

"This extension is desperately needed," he said Tuesday. "This requires time to get these applications not only filed but processed. As a result, if we do not extend the program, there are going to be a lot of small businesses that are going to be left out."

Help cannot arrive fast enough, according to the National Federation of Independent Businesses. Nearly one of every six small business owners report they will have to close their doors if current economic conditions do not improve over the next six months, the NFIB said.