WASHINGTON (BRAIN) — With the Small Business Administration nearing the limit of Paycheck Protection Program loans it can issue, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin and SBA Administrator Jovita Carranza jointly issued a statement Wednesday night calling for Congress to approve additional funding.
They said the SBA has processed more than 14 years' worth of loans in less than two weeks to help small businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. On April 3, the Paycheck Protection Program went online and authorized $349 billion in forgivable loans.
"By law, the SBA will not be able to issue new loan approvals once the programs experience a lapse in appropriations," the statement said. "We urge Congress to appropriate additional funds for the Paycheck Protection Program — a critical and overwhelmingly bipartisan program — at which point we will once again be able to process loan applications, issue loan numbers, and protect millions more paychecks."
As of Thursday morning at 7:45 Eastern, 97% ($338 billion) of the $349 billion in PPP loans had been approved, with about 1.6 million applications being processed from 4,900 lending institutions during the first 13 days.
"The high demand we have seen underscores the need for hard-working Americans to have access to relief as soon as possible," according to the statement. We want every eligible small business to participate and get the resources they need."
