The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Research Center released a survey Tuesday that said 80 percent of small business owners are still waiting to receive a loan from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).
“Small businesses were prepared and ready to apply for these programs, the only financial support options for most, and it is very frustrating that the majority of these true small businesses haven’t received their loan yet,” Holly Wade, NFIB Director of Research & Policy Analysis, said. “Small businesses make up nearly half of the economy and it’s crucial that their doors stay open.”
Under the CARES Act, Congress created PPP which was meant to help out small businesses during the coronavirus pandemic. Congress allocated $350 billion for this program.
However, the original money set out for this program ran out of money almost a week ago, according to The Wall Street Journal. Congress is expected to pass a deal this week that will add more money to PPP. On Tuesday, the Republican-controlled Senate passed a $480 billion small business and hospital relief package. PPP will receive $310 billion, CNN reported.
The bill will be sent to the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives where they could approve the bill as soon as Thursday, according to Fortune. Previously, Nancy Pelosi and House Democrats blocked the Senate’s $250 billion small business relief proposal.
Even as fast as the money went on the first round of available loans, the second round of loans is expected to go even faster, INC reported.
The nation’s largest small business association survey said that around 75 percent of small business owners submitted an application for a PPP loan as of April 17.
Additionally, small business owners in America said they have a bleak outlook for the foreseeable future, with one-out-of-four respondents saying they believe the economy will not return to normal until 2022.
In addition, only around 33 percent of small business owners thought the economy would return to normal economic activity by the end of the year, according to NFIB’s survey.
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Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of Star News Digital Media. If you have any tips, email Zachery at [email protected].
Photo “Business Loan” by Nick Youngson. CC BY-SA 3.0.
The small business PPP is a bottomless pit into which the President and Congress are dumping trillions of dollars. The only solution is to get out of their way and let businesses get back to doing business.