BISMARCK – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), a Senate Banking Committee member, spoke to small business owners and members of North Dakota’s financial industry today about his bipartisan “Paycheck Protection Small Business Forgiveness Act” legislation and the possibility of a future COVID-19 relief package. 

“North Dakota’s lenders excelled at getting Paycheck Protection Program funds out the door and into the hands of those who needed it most. Now we are looking at what additional steps we can take, whether that be a new aid package or commonsense regulatory reforms to ease compliance costs,” said Senator Cramer. “Thank you to the Bank of North Dakota for hosting today’s call and to all the participants for their thoughtful questions and important feedback.”

The virtual call, hosted by the Bank of North Dakota, included over 300 attendees from North Dakota’s banking and credit union industry, as well as members of small business groups like the state’s National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) chapter.

During the call, Senator Cramer took questions from participants and outlined the “Paycheck Protection Small Business Forgiveness Act,” his bipartisan bill which would allow for automatic forgiveness for PPP loans of $150,000 or less if the borrower submits a simple, one-page attestation form to the lender. The legislation ensures the lender is held harmless from any enforcement action if the borrower’s attestation form contains falsehoods.

Of the 3.7 million PPP loans approved throughout the United States, 85 percent were for $150,000 or less, even though these loans only account for 26 percent of the funds spent on this program. In North Dakota, the average size of the state’s 19,724 PPP loans was $91,000.

The cost of applying for forgiveness for a PPP loan of this size is estimated to be $2,000 for the small business and $500 for the lender. Senator Cramer’s legislation could lead to $35 million in savings for North Dakota’s small businesses and nearly $9 million for its lenders.

Joining Senator Cramer in introducing the Paycheck Protection Small Business Forgiveness Act earlier this month were Senators Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Thom Tillis (R-NC), and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ). It is cosponsored by Senators Tom Cotton (R-AR), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), John Cornyn (R-TX), Jerry Moran (R-KS), David Perdue (R-GA), Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) and Lisa Murkowski (R-GA).

The bill is supported by over 140 organizations and by the Bankers Association in every state as well as Puerto Rico.