The House approved the extension, which would keep the program open to applications until August 8, unanimously. The move will now go to President Donald Trump’s desk for signature.
On Wednesday, Democrats in the House of Representatives also debated how to handle the extension, with some pushing for additional changes to the program, according to several aides involved in the discussions.
The chair of the House of Representatives Small Business Committee, Nydia Velazquez, a New York Democrat and central negotiator of the program, said earlier that day that she was pressing the Trump administration to get details of the level of loan so highly sought until the moment.
“We need to assess whether the program has been successful or not,” Velázquez told reporters. “We need the data to be able to conclude that this is the way to go.”
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Small Business Administration Administrator Jovita Carranza told lawmakers last week that the data would be released to House committees later this week, but there has been frustration. palpable among Democrats for the time it has taken up to this point.
As it stands, more than 4.8 million small businesses tapped more than $ 520 billion in potentially forgivable loans through the program, a central pillar of the $ 2.2 trillion emergency financial aid effort deployed in March to address to keep the economy afloat as the pandemic led to a massive shutdown of companies across the country.
The program was so critical in its infancy that a first round of funding ran out in less than two weeks and had to be replenished. But interest in the program has largely dried up in recent weeks, as changing rules and the inability of borrowers to re-obtain a second loan limited the number of small businesses able to go through the application process.
More than $ 130 billion in allocated funds was unused at the time of the program’s closing on Tuesday night.
That, along with the impending deadline, has spurred bipartisan negotiations on the next phase of the program and the relief of small businesses.
Bipartisan Senate negotiations have begun to move forward rapidly, as lawmakers seek to lay the groundwork for the small business portion of the upcoming stimulus legislation. Negotiations on that package are expected to kick off later this month after lawmakers return from the July 4 vacation break.
“We are close to reaching a bipartisan agreement and I know we are going to work very hard during the recess to do so,” said Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine who was instrumental in bringing Senate Republicans into the short film. long-term, he said Wednesday.
Lawmakers involved in the negotiations are seeking a more specific use of the surplus funds in the next round of stimulus legislation, specifically targeting the most affected companies and industries.
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