Republican Sens. Marco Rubio and Susan Collins introduced legislation Monday that would commit $190 billion for small-business relief, including allowing the hardest-hit small employers to receive a second forgivable loan.
The second round of loans is a continuation of the Small Business Administration’s relief program, created by the $2.3 trillion March CARES Act relief package, called the Paycheck Protection Program, which provides forgivable loans through lending institutions to small businesses that were hurt by the pandemic as long as they maintain payrolls.
“Our proposal for a second round of PPP is targeted at helping minority-owned small businesses and includes a new, long-term recovery loan program,” Rubio, chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, said in a statement. The measure is part of the larger Republican proposal for a new round of pandemic relief.
The small-business provision would allow small employers that have seen their revenues decline by 50% to receive a second small-business relief loan. The bill would limit these second forgivable loans to entities with 300 or fewer employees and create an additional set aside of funds for businesses with 10 or fewer employees. The bill also includes a $10 billion set aside for community lenders to access the second round of loans.
The bill would keep the requirement that 60% of the loan go to payroll costs in order to receive full forgiveness but would simplify the forgiveness application and documentation requirements for smaller loans under $150,000. It would allow businesses to use the forgivable funds for personal protective equipment and coronavirus safety protocols.
