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- Senate unanimously passes PPP Flexibility Act approved by the House last week
- Cardin (D): PPP has given 4.4 million loans so far, total value of $510 billion
- Entirety of changes to PPP not yet known, expected to change multiple times
- CRT ready to help you navigate changes made to the bill made between signing and enactment
The US Senate unanimously passed the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Flexibility Act late last night, making long-awaited changes in an effort to help more loans become forgivable grants. The bill mirrors the legislation that was passed out of the House last week, which was highlighted by, but not limited to, the following changes:
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- Extension of the Forgiveness Period from 8 weeks to 24 weeks
- Reduction of the requirement for payroll and payroll-related spending from 75% to 60%
- Delay of the deadline to rehire workers from June 30 to December 31, 2020
- Increase in the loan period for non-Forgivable portions of funding from 2 years to 5 years
The smooth passage of the legislation came as somewhat of a surprise, given the differences in specifics the two chambers had as of late last week that needed to be worked out. The vote, however, was not without a brief period of controversy. An attempt by Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to pass the bill via unanimous consent failed on the Senate floor when Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) objected, effectively killing the bill. When Johnson was given assurances that changes could and will be made to the length of time that the Program would remain in effect, Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) brought the bill back up on the floor, where it passed without objection.
The bill now heads to President Trump’s desk where it is expected to be signed into law. However, the entirety of changes set to be made to the PPP are yet to be fully known and are subject to be changed even following a signature from the President. As was seen with the initial rollout, changes made to the PPP via “additional guidance” from the SBA and US Treasury Department altered aspects of the PPP that were signed into law by the President. This resulted in widespread confusion, lack of clarity, and lawsuits.
Visit the DSJ COVID-19 Information Center to follow our Coronavirus Response Team (CRT) as we stay on top of the specifics being reported from the PPP Flexibility Act.
Sincerely,
Stephen Jahelka
Chief Business Officer, Disaster Relief Consultant
Contact:
516-541-6549 | Email