Congress approves $484 billion stimulus package, including $370 billion to replenish SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program, disaster funding

Following last Thursday’s funding run-out of the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), the government has moved swiftly to pass a new $484 billion package that will continue to finance the PPP, along with several other initiatives. The House passed the bill Thursday evening, following the Senate’s approval Tuesday, and the president signed it into law Friday morning.

In addition to $310 billion in new funding for the PPP, the package allocates $60 billion for SBA disaster relief loans and grants, $75 billion for hospitals and health care providers, and $25 billion for the development and expansion of coronavirus testing, according to news sources.

The $310 billion for the PPP includes $30 billion reserved for community-based lenders, small banks and credit unions and $30 billion reserved for mid-sized banks and credit unions.

We will continue to provide additional information as it becomes available, so keep checking our Coronavirus Resource Center for updates. In the meantime, contact our national SBA loan task force or your CohnReznick engagement team for assistance with filing for these loans and providing required financial documentation.

According to Bob Moss, CohnReznick’s National Director of Governmental Affairs, lawmakers are already looking ahead to the next legislative battle over a fifth coronavirus-related bill that could rival the size and scope of the $2.2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. One item that is expected to be included in the next package is funding for state and local governments, which Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) pushed for in the interim bill. Pelosi told media on Wednesday that funding would go to those on the front lines, including health care workers, first responders, and emergency services.

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