On Tuesday, April 21, 2020, the United States Senate approved a $484 billion bill pertaining to additional funding for the damage due to the novel coronavirus.

The House of Representatives is expected to vote on the measure at 10:00 AM on Thursday, April 23, 2020. President Trump has said that when it passes, he will sign the bill immediately.

The question is, when will these funds actually be available to be distributed to many small businesses? Our guess would be early the week of April 27, 2020. Stay tuned for further details as they become available.

Of the $484 billion, $310 billion is specifically earmarked for the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to add funds to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP); $60 billion of this is set aside for loans made by small banks, credit unions, minority-owned banks, and other smaller lenders.

Please make sure that your applications have been submitted in full to your financial institutions as soon as possible – and double check with your banker to make sure they have everything they need to submit your documentation to the SBAFFNET portal once it reopens. Another $50 billion will be administered by the SBA through the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program; this program provides loans of up to $2 million, which can be used for working capital. Small businesses qualifying for such loans may use the proceeds to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable and other expenses. Interest rates on these loans is fixed at 3.75% for small for-profit businesses, and 2.75% for non-profits.

The $484 billion also includes $75 billion for hospitals and health care providers, and $25 billion for expenses related to testing for coronavirus.

If you have questions on the PPP and / or other SBA programs and whether they might benefit your business, please click here to email us directly – we are here to help.

Until next Wednesday –

Peace,

Eric