Special Report: Paycheck Protection Program

Congress Replenishes Paycheck Protection Program; Additional Small Business Aid Clearing Final Hurdles

April, 2020

New stimulus incoming to beleaguered small businesses. Following the passage of the $2 trillion CARES Act in March, Congress is moving forward with an additional $484 billion in stimulus. The main focus of the new Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Health Care Enhancement Act is to replenish the depleted PPP, which reached its original $349 billion funding limit in less than two weeks. The PPP was a critical component of the CARES Act designed to help small businesses weather the current health crisis and keep employees on payroll. The new legislation will provide an additional $310 billion to the PPP, with about $60 billion of those funds specifically allocated to lenders with less than $50 billion in consolidated assets. A similar amount has also been slated for the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) economic injury disaster relief programs. The remaining stimulus will go toward the healthcare sector. Approximately $75 billion will be made available to hospitals and $25 billion will support coronavirus testing. Overall, the latest federal action aims to help reduce unemployment and provide financial resources to businesses in distress. This is also unlikely to be the last act of fiscal stimulus during this epidemic.