Senate unanimously passes bill that seeks to fix the Paycheck Protection Program, which provides direct relief to small businesses amid the coronavirus pandemic; the bill now heads to President Trump's desk for signature.
, would ease restrictions on the popular program, known as PPP. It comes after the program was scrutinized for providing aid to unintended recipients, such as large publicly traded companies, and many businesses around the country complained that they either could not tap into loans or did not receive adequate funds to keep their businesses afloat and their employees on the payroll.
Last week, the Democratic-controlled House passed the bipartisan bill, which would change how businesses could use loan money while still having their loans forgiven. The vote was nearly unanimous, at 417-1. Under the bill, businesses would have more time to use their loan money beyond the initial eight-week timeline — which some local businesses that are prohibited from opening their doors have said did not work for them — and still qualify for loan forgiveness. It would also expand how much of the money would have to be spent on payroll costs.The bill would also eliminate restrictions limiting non-payroll expenses to 25 percent of the loan and the loan's terms to two years.
Many businesses have reported an inability to rehire employees because they are making more on unemployment than they made working.to protect lives and livelihoods," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said in a statement."Leader McConnell wants us to ‘pause,’ but the virus is not pausing and neither can we.”Julie Tsirkin is an associate producer for NBC News' Capitol Hill team.
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