Sens Coons Duckworth Rubio Risch Lead Bipartisan Effort To Save Sba 7 Lending Program For Small Businesses
WASHINGTON Bipartisan legislation authored by U.S. Senator Chris Coons to prevent the Small Business Administrations flagship loan program from shutting down passed the Senate yesterday by unanimous consent. Sen. Coons Small Business Lending Continuity Act of 2020, which was co-led by U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship Chairman Marco Rubio and fellow committee members Senators Tammy Duckworth and James Risch , would fix an error in the CARES Act that inadvertently results in the SBAs flagship 7 Loan Guarantee Program shutting down whenever the newly-created Paycheck Protection Program runs out of funding. If left unfixed, SBAs 7 Loan Guarantee Programs Fiscal Year 2020 $30 billion authorization cap would be void until July 1, 2020, and the program runs the risk of shutting down if PPP reaches its authorization cap of $310 billion.
SBA-backed loans are an important resource for Main Street business across America, and they are especially vital with an economy in crisis, said Senator Coons. The Small Business Lending Continuity Act ensures that not only will the SBA keep its flagship 7 lending program running, but it will also continue to make the first six months of payments on behalf of all new 7 small business borrowers, as provided for by the CARES Act.
This bill was also co-sponsored by Senator Ben Cardin , Ranking Member of Small Business & Entrepreneurship, as well as Senator Jeanne Shaheen and Senator Marsha Blackburn .
Use Cares Act Money Small Business Grant Program
The act creates a small business COVID-19 grant program, financed by $20 million from the federal money allocated to the state pursuant to the federal “Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act”, also referred to as the “CARES Act”. The Colorado office of economic development will administer the grant program and the Colorado economic development commission will contract with the Colorado housing and finance authority to operate the grant program. CHFA will work with nonprofit or community-based lenders that will underwrite and distribute the grants to small businesses pursuant to the program.
To be eligible for a grant, a small business must have fewer than 25 employees and have been affected by economic hardship caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. A preference is given for a small business that did not qualify for or receive a paycheck protection program loan is majority owned by veterans, women, or minorities or is located in a rural area. Individual grant awards are capped at $15,000, and of the total amount allocated for the grant program, $5 million is earmarked, until October 1, 2020, for tourism businesses. The federal money must be spent by December 30, 2020. The office must submit reports on the grant program to the committees of the general assembly with jurisdiction over business affairs.
The act appropriates $20,000,000 from the care subfund in the general fund to the office for administration of the small business COVID-19 grant program.
House Passes $19 Trillion Stimulus Bill With A Variety Of Small Business Relief
The U.S. House of Representatives passed, by a vote of 219212, a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package early Saturday morning that includes $1,400 stimulus checks to individuals, an extension of unemployment benefits, and tens of billions in aid for small businesses and not-for-profits.
The bill, titled the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, H.R. 1319, also includes phased increases in the minimum wage that would bring it to $15 an hour by 2025. That part of the bill likely will not be considered in the bill’s next stop, the Senate. That’s because the Senate parliamentarian ruled Thursday that the minimum wage hike could not be part of the bill because it is being considered using budget-reconciliation rules, which clears the way for the Senate to pass the legislation by a simple majority.
Vice President Kamala Harris could overrule the Senate parliamentarian but was not expected to do so. This would guarantee that any bill passed by the Senate would be different from the House version, requiring changes and likely follow-up votes by both chambers in March.
The American Rescue Plan Act includes numerous tax provisions, including a $1,400 recovery rebate credit plus $1,400 for each dependent for 2021. Advance payments of the credit will be sent to individuals as economic impact payment checks. For more details, see the JofA article “Tax Provisions in the American Rescue Plan Act.”
The bill also includes:
Small business items
PPP funding
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Thousands of sellers on Etsy are involved in a week-long strike over increased fees. According to a report on NPR, merchants on the e-commerce channel dedicated to handmade or vintage items and craft supplies, are closing their online shops for a week to strike over the raise in fees. Etsy Sellers Are On Strike Over Increased Fees The Etsy sellers are reluctant to pay the 1.
Secure Act 20 Would Change Retirement Savings And Impact Small Business Owners
The Secure Act 2.0 has passed in the House and is currently up for discussion in the Senates Committee on Finance. If it becomes law, what will it mean for small business owners? The Secure Act 2.0 could spell changes for employers, with changes how 401Ks are administered for full and part-time employees.
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House Passes Bill To Aid Restaurants Small Businesses Impacted By Covid
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The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Relief for Restaurants and other Hard Hit Small Businesses Act to provide grants to local restaurants, venues, and other businesses that are still struggling to recover from the long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Restaurant Revitalization Fund was established under the American Rescue Plan, which President Joe Biden signed into law in March 2021, and provided $28.6 billion to the U.S. Small Business Administration to award as direct relief funds to U.S. restaurants and other hard-hit food establishments experiencing economic distress and operational losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, the program received more than 278,000 eligible applications representing more than $72.2 billion in requested funds. Restaurant owners across Virginia applied for nearly $1.5 billion in grant funding, but only received $653 million in direct relief. The additional funding provided in the Relief for Restaurants and other Hard Hit Small Businesses Act would provide relief to local restaurants that were unable to access RRF due to funding shortages in the program.
What Should You Do To Get In Line If Hr 3087 Passes In The Senate
Blumenauer explained that businesses which previously applied for the small business grant program do not need to apply again. The waiting list is long there were about 300,000 applicants for the original program and only about 1/3 were awarded grants.
Some of the application rejection was the result of confusion. During the first round of small business grants in the American Rescue Plan, businesses owned by women, minorities and Veterans were prioritized. However, after a series of discrimination lawsuits were filed, many applicants had their grants rescinded.
If your application had been rescinded, rejected, or youve never applied, you would apply via an SBA approved lender. Youll need to be able to document the dollar amount of your lost revenue.
For example, youd compare pre-pandemic revenue to revenue during the pandemic and post pandemic.
The Small Business Administration would oversee the grant program and handle the funds. Grant amounts could be as much as $10 million per business .
According to the Independent Restaurant Coalition, 90,000 restaurants have closed during the past 2 years, and 80% are on the verge of closing.
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House Passes Bill To Fund Small Business Grant Program For $55 Billion
by NACBO Admin | Apr 12, 2022 | FP
On Friday, the US House of Representatives passed HR 3807, a bill which calls for $55 billion to replenish a small business grant program. The bill aims to supply the small businesses in America which were most affected by the COVID pandemic.
The grant program was part of the American Rescue Plan. Of the $55 billion, $42 billion is earmarked for restaurants, food trucks, wineries, breweries and bakeries.
The remaining $13 billion would go to small businesses to include gyms, event venues, theaters, transportation contractors and sports teams.
A portion of the $13 billion would be set aside for grant program oversight.
Houses Passes $484 Billion Funding Bill For Small Business Lending Programs
By Isabelle Gustafson | April 24, 2020
On April 23, Congress passed a $484 billion funding bill to replenish two small business lending programs and provide more funding for hospitals and COVID-19 testing.
In addition to social distancing measures, House officials, staff members and many lawmakers wore masks or other face coverings, which some removed only to deliver speeches on the floor.
The legislation was negotiated after the Paycheck Protection Program a Small Business Administration COVID-19 relief program created as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act ran out of the initial $350 billion allocated within two weeks of being made available.
The PPP is intended to help businesses with fewer than 500 employees keep workers on payroll by extending loans up to $10 million that can be forgiven if employers keep paying their workforce.
The Treasury Department said PPP loan recipients are expected to self-certify in good faith that they actually need the loan, and borrowers cant have other options that wouldnt be significantly detrimental to the business, and the SBA retains the right to audit borrowers later.
The new bill includes $310 billion to replenish the PPP program, $60 billion for another SBA loan and grant program, $75 billion for hospitals and health care providers and $25 billion for a new COVID-19 testing program requiring the administration to develop a plan to provide greater testing support and access for states.
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Houses Oks $55 Billion For Small Business Grant Program
Does the latest measure have legs? Maybe. It passed the House by a 223 to 203 vote, but still has to get through the evenly split Senate. The Senate has adjourned for 2 weeks.
In March, restaurant relief funds were dropped from the Congressional omnibus spending bill.
That same month, the Senate introduced S2675 Continuing Emergency Support for Restaurants Act.
On April 8, the House passed HR3807, which is the $55 billion small business grant program. As proposed, it would be funded by unused monies from the 2020 and 2021 pandemic relief programs.
Two similar measures were introduced by the House and Senate in 2021. Both are languishing.
In June 2021 a $60 billion Restaurant Replenishment bill was introduced in the House. In July 2021, the $60 billion Entrée Act was introduced in the Senate. Neither has passed.
The latest measure was introduced by Representative Earl Blumenauer .
It shouldnt be this hard, Blumenauer said. The level of dissention and controversy has been indescribable, and I thought that the restaurants were a way to help bring us all together.
House Of Representatives Passes Relief Funding Bill For Small Businesses
Mask mandates may be a thing of the past, and getting ready to shift your work environment from in-person to virtual and back on short notice may be the new normal, but for small businesses, the pandemic ennui drags on, and rising prices and stagnant wages are not helping. This problem is especially burdensome for restaurants and entertainment venues in Washington, DC, which has always been an all work and no play type of city for residents if you need proof of this, look at the sheer number of DC restaurants that, before the pandemic, were only open for lunch. Besides this, many DC businesses depend on tourists and business travelers as their client base, and these businesses have had to adapt to an unpredictable feast or famine mindset. The businesses that are still holding on, more than two years after the COVID-19 pandemic turned Washington DC into a ghost town, are doing so thanks in part to the resourcefulness of their stakeholders and thanks in part to pandemic relief funds. A bipartisan bill expanding relief funding in the form of small business grants has just passed the House of Representatives. A Washington DC small business lawyer can help you make the most of the new round of relief funding for small businesses.
Key Provisions of the Relief for Restaurants and Other Hard Hit Small Business Act
Contact Us About Helping Your Business Thrive During the Pandemic
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House Passes Aid For Restaurants Small Businesses Affected By Covid Pandemic
WASHINGTON The House passed a $55 billion bill Thursday that would provide assistance to restaurants and other small businesses that have struggled because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Lawmakers approved the measure in a 223-203 vote, with only about a handful of Republicans backing it. A large chunk of the bill, $42 billion, would replenish the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, a grant program launched as a result of the American Rescue Plan, which President Joe Biden signed into law last year.
Nearly 300,000 restaurants and bars applied for grants through the program last year, according to the Small Business Administration, but only a third of applicants received relief.
The legislation would also provide $13 billion for other businesses affected by the pandemic, and it would establish oversight and reporting requirements to ensure grants are awarded properly and to verify the use of funding.
Us House Passes $484bn Coronavirus Relief Bill To Fund Small Businesses And Hospitals
Measure heads to Donald Trumps desk after passing House by vote of 388-5, as lawmakers meet for first time in weeks
The US House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a $484bn coronavirus relief bill on Thursday, funding small businesses and hospitals and pushing the total spending response to the crisis to an unprecedented near $3tn.
The measure passed the Democratic-led House by a vote of 388-5, with one member voting present. House members were meeting for the first time in weeks because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Lawmakers, many wearing masks, approved the bill during an extended period of voting intended to allow them to remain at a distance from one another, in line with public health recommendations.
The House action sent the latest of four relief bills to the White House, where Donald Trump has promised to sign it quickly into law.
The Republican-led Senate had passed the legislation on Tuesday. But threats of opposition by some members of both parties prompted congressional leaders to call the full chamber back to Washington for the House vote despite state stay-at-home orders.
The House also approved a select committee, with subpoena power, to investigate the US response to the coronavirus. It will have broad powers to investigate how federal dollars are being spent, US preparedness and Trump administration deliberations.
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Senate Blocks $48 Billion Aid Package For Restaurants Other Small Businesses
The Senate on Thursday blocked a bipartisan bill to provide $48 billion to restaurants, gyms and other small businesses hit particularly hard by the pandemic.
Senators voted 52-43 to hold a vote on the bill, falling short of the 60-vote threshold needed to move forward. Just five GOP senators voted for the motion to proceed, with the bills opponents citing its impact on the federal deficit and inflation.
The vote likely spells doom for the bill, which was crafted by Sens. Roger Wicker and Ben Cardin and backed by Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer as a way to help struggling small businesses get out of debt accrued during the pandemic.
Well, this was our best shot. Make no mistake about it, were disappointed that we werent able to get it done, Cardin told reporters after the vote. But you know, Ill always fight for small businesses. Ill continue to look for ways we can help.
Pressed after the vote on any potential plans for a similar measure in the future, Wicker told The Hill, You know, time is a very fleeting commodity, so I just dont know.
Advocates had argued that the additional funds were needed to prevent scores of debt-ridden small businesses from closing down.
The bill would have provided $40 billion to a relief fund for struggling restaurants. Democrats provided $28.6 billion to the fund in their COVID-19 relief package, but the federal dollars quickly ran out, with only one out of three applicants receiving aid.
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House Passes $55 Billion Bill To Aid Restaurants Small Businesses
The bill passed 223-203, with just a few Republicans supporting it. It includes $42 billion for restaurants and $13 billion for other small businesses impacted by COVID-19.
Republicans maintained that the additional pandemic relief money for small businesses is not necessary and claimed the money would worsen inflation.
The money in this bill replenishes the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, created by the Biden American Rescue Plan that became law in 2021. No Republicans in Congress voted for it.
That fund provided $28.6 billion for restaurants hit by the pandemic.
“While these companies are dispersed throughout the country, they are united by a common message: that small firms are still hurting and they are counting on Congress for more support,” House Small Business Committee Chairwoman Nydia Velázquez, D-N.Y., told The Hill.
Rep. Early Blumenauer, D-Ore., sponsored the bill. He told NBC News that more than 80% of restaurants that didn’t get a grant are on the verge of permanent closure, according to the Independent Restaurant Association.
The Senate still must vote to pass the bill for it to become law.
In addition to the $42 billion for restaurants in the House bill, it provides another $13 billion for small businesses ineligible for other pandemic relief programs.