On Thursday, the Senate voted to extend the Paycheck Protection Program for two months.

A week before the Small Business Administration’s PPP was slated to expire, senators voted 92 to 7 to pass the PPP Extension Act of 2021.

Not only does the legislation extend the program to May 31 from the initial March 31 deadline, but it gives the SBA an additional 30 days to process loans.
The passage of the bill is good news for small business owners, who were rushing to sign up for the PPP prior to the program expiring. The move by the Senate will allow small businesses, who were shut out of first round funding, to apply for second round funding, which many need to keep their businesses running during the COVID-19 pandemic.

USA Today reported passage of the legislation will allow roughly 190,000 small businesses who have pending PPP applications to secure a loan. If the legislation was not passed, those small businesses would have lost potential funding.

Under the new presidential administration, the PPP was updated in recent months to target small businesses and non-profits, who were able to initially get loans. It also gave applicants the chance to take out a second loan. The large majority of loans do not have to be paid back as long as businesses comply with the terms, which include a requirement that 60 percent of the loan amount goes to payroll costs.

Following the passage of the PPP Extension Act of 2021, it will be sent to President Joe Biden to be signed into law. According to multiple media reports, the White House has indicated it will support extending the program.

The Senate vote comes nearly a week after the House of Representatives passed the PPP Extension Act of 2021.

According to the Small Business Association, since the PPP’s inception last March as part of the CARES Act, about 7.5 million loans totaling $687 billion to small businesses were issued last year.

Contact a Zinnner Recovery Specialist to help your business apply for PPP funding.