June 5, 2020—The U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business held a hearing entitled, "Perspectives from Main Street: COVID-19's Impact on Small Business," addressing issues with the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, according to a press release.
According to the release, Chairman Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) displayed the Small Business Administration's most recent data about the PPP and EIDL program, saying that more than 4.4 million PPP loans have been made for a total of more than $510 billion with an average loan size of roughly $114,000, with more than 707,000 EIDL loans have been made for more than $55.7 billion.
Witnesses discussed issues with the PPP and EIDL program, emphasizing the need to continue the programs and the importance of focusing on underserved, minority, and rural communities, according to the release. John Shamess, co-founder and owner of Flags of Valor, encouraged the Senate committee to simplify the program, extend loan forgiveness period to 24 weeks, and eliminating the 75/25 rule—saying employers need to put 75 percent of their PPP loan toward payroll to earn loan forgiveness. Shamess said these changes would allow for the PPP to benefit more small business and their employees.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Senate passed the PPP Flexibility Act, which addresses many of these concerns, and is now awaiting President Trump's signature.
