House to Consider Changes to PPP Loan Requirements

WASHINGTON, DC – The House of Representatives is expected to take up legislation this week that would overhaul the Payroll Protection Program (PPP). The program, part of the federal response to the “Great Lockdown, is administered by the Small Business Administration (SBA) and is designed to help businesses affected by COVID-19. The bipartisan bill sponsored by Rep. Dean Phillips (MN-D) and Rep. Chip Roy (TX-R), would provide businesses with greater flexibility in how they use the PPP funds and still have their loans forgiven. Currently, PPP recipients must invest the proceeds to pay workers and cover other specific expenses in eight weeks for the loan to be converted to a grant and ultimately be forgiven. The proposed legislation would expand the time businesses have to spend the money, from eight to 24 weeks, and eliminate a requirement that at least 75 percent of the funds go to payroll to be forgiven.