The fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic has sent the U.S. economy into the greatest downturn since the Great Depression, and small businesses are among the hardest hit. To help business owners and employees survive, the federal government created the Paycheck Protection Program PPP to offer low-interest loans that are forgiven if at least 75% of the loan is used to cover payroll.

While initially impressed at how Congress and the Trump administration moved swiftly to meet the historic need, I was disheartened to learn they left out many hard-working Americans by prohibiting hundreds of thousands of people with prior criminal records from accessing the program. As the Senate plans to vote on a new relief bill, Congress needs to fix this mistake and pass the bipartisan Paycheck Protection Program Second Chance Act.