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WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), a member of the Senate Banking and Senate Budget committees, outlined the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) portion of the targeted COVID-19 relief package Congress has included in the year-end spending bill.
“The targeted relief package contains a lifeline for our businesses, offering a new round of Paycheck Protection Program loans while greatly simplifying the forgiveness process for smaller loans,” said Senator Cramer. “While there is work to be done, this package will help employers keep their doors open and their employees on the payroll as we conquer this virus and weather its economic impact.”
The new relief package:
As he has since the implementation of the CARES Act, Senator Cramer focused his efforts on streamlining forgiveness for smaller PPP loans as this bill was being crafted. This summer he introduced the Paycheck Protection Small Business Forgiveness Act, bipartisan legislation which gained the support of over 200 organizations and 32 senators. Senator Cramer was able to insert language into the final bill that streamlines the forgiveness process and better aligns the law with congressional intent.
Specifically, the legislation ensures “a recipient of a covered loan that is not more than $150,000 shall not, at the time of the application for forgiveness, be required to submit any application or documentation in addition to the certification and information required to substantiate forgiveness.” The intent of Congress is clear, borrowers should not have to provide any extraneous documentation to get their loans forgiven when they submit their one-page PPP loan forgiveness attestation. Documents should only be required by the lender or by the Small Business Administration (SBA) in the event of an audit or to comply with relevant statutes and regulations.
Richard Hunt, Consumer Bankers Association (CBA) President and CEO applauded Senator Cramer for his efforts.
“This is a victory for millions of small businesses on Main Streets across the country,” said Hunt. “Instead of worrying about bureaucratic paperwork, businessmen and women can focus on reopening, growing local economies and paying their employees. Senators Cramer, Menendez, Tillis and Sinema and Representatives Houlahan and Upton as well as the more than a hundred cosponsors of the streamline forgiveness legislation should be commended for their dedication to America’s small businesses. Thousands of bankers have worked tirelessly to distribute decades of small business loans in a matter of months and look forward to continuing to work with Congresses and small businesses – the backbones of communities – as we all work together to heal the economic damage caused by this pandemic.”
The package also includes one-year extensions for the Current Expected Credit Losses (CECL) exemption, Troubled Debt Relief (TDR) including insurance companies, and the Credit Liquidity Facility (CLF), each of which were priorities for Senator Cramer.