The COVID-19 pandemic has had devastating consequences for small businesses. Small-business layoffs soared by 1,000% in March, with roughly 2 million employees losing their jobs. Some businesses have closed, while others have been forced to cut employee hours drastically to stay afloat.

To help small businesses weather this storm, Congress created the Paycheck Protection Program as part of the coronavirus response bill we passed at the end of March. And I’m pleased to report that last week, we made approximately $300 billion in additional funding available for the program.