The House voted 417-1 to pass legislation to ease restrictions on the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program, as advocated for by ICBA.
H.R. 7010: Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020, sponsored by Reps. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) and Chip Roy (R-Texas), extends the time for businesses to spend the money from eight to 24 weeks and lowers the amount that must be spent on payroll costs from 75 to 60 percent.
In its letter to Congress Wednesday, ICBA argued that the PPP loan forgiveness restrictions were “far too onerous and complex,” and hindered community banks’ ability to distribute critical funds to companies in need.
"We've got basically a two-week window here to make any reasonable reforms to the forgiveness side," ICBA’s Paul Merski told Politico.
ICBA encourages community banks to use its Be Heard grassroots action center and tell lawmakers to make these necessary changes to ensure the program reaches as many small businesses and employees as possible. Note: Internet Explorer users who experience problems accessing the ICBA Action Center can try using an alternative web browser, such as Chrome, Firefox, or Safari.
