Access to $93 billion in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds would be extended for restaurants and other small businesses for another two months under a bill that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has vowed “to pass as quickly as possible.”
Without the extension, the PPP will officially expire on March 31, with the $93 billion left undistributed.
The House of Representatives voted 415-3 on Tuesday to extend the program, which has been a lifeline for small businesses hoping to survive the economic shutdown brought by the COVID pandemic. The vote was unusually bipartisan because of the PPP’s popularity and the lack of need to appropriate more funds. With a surplus of cash in hand, the PPP could continue to operate without affecting the federal deficit.
The PPP kitty was enriched by $5 billion last week when President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan into law. The measure recognized the importance of the PPP in helping small businesses survive, and appropriated the additional funding.
A recent poll by Alignable, a referral service for small businesses, found that 78% of small enterprises support extending the PPP through May 30.
The extension bill is widely expected to be passed by the Senate. It already has bilateral co-sponsorship, having been introduced by Susan Collins, R-Vt., and Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H. A vote could come as early as today or tomorrow.
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