The US Senate approved legislation to improve the Paycheck Protection Program, sending the bill to the President for signature.
Senate action came June 3; the House voted 471-1 on May 28 to revise the Paycheck Protection Program created to help small business.
Key changes included:
- Time extension. Originally, the Paycheck Protection Program was designed to cover eight weeks. Congress expanded the loan-forgiveness period to 24 weeks.
- Flexibility. The program started with a requirement that 75 percent of funds must be used for payroll (up to 25 percent could be used for mortgage, rent, or utilities). Congress reduced the payroll requirement from 75 percent to 60 percent for full forgiveness.
Since April 3, businesses with fewer than 500 employees could apply for Paycheck Protection loans, as part of the federal stimulus effort. These loans will be forgiven if certain employee-retention standards are met,
Published: June 4, 2020