WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), a Senate Banking Committee member, joined Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) in introducing legislation to extend the deadline for businesses and nonprofits to apply for loans through the Paycheck Protection Program to May 31, 2021. It is currently set to end at the end of March.
“The Paycheck Protection Program has been wildly popular in North Dakota, giving a significant number of our small businesses the resources they need to get through the pandemic,” said Senator Cramer. “We should not let it shut down right as we are on the verge of a strong recovery. Our bill would give business owners more time to seek assistance through this program and ensure help remains available to all who need it, not just a select few.”
The legislation would also prohibit the Small Business Administration (SBA) from setting priorities for processing the applications of some entities over others except for priorities reasonably necessary to carry out the set-asides created by Congress in the December 2020 COVID-19 relief bill.
Through his seat on the Senate Banking Committee, Senator Cramer teamed up with North Dakota’s small business leaders to help craft the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) – which was administered through SBA - and worked with SBA to improve its efficacy. The senator was able to get legislation passed last year to streamline the PPP forgiveness process for small businesses.
Senators Cramer and Rubio are joined on this bill by Senators Susan Collins (R-ME), Jim Risch (R-ID), Mike Braun (R-IN), Mike Crapo (R-ID), John Barrasso (R-WY), James Lankford (R-OK), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Tim Scott (R-SC), Mike Rounds (R-SD) and Josh Hawley (R-MO).