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Friends,
Over the past two months I have held 46 tele-town halls and spoken with countless small business owners. Many have expressed their appreciation of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) but voiced their concerns that the funds were not flexible enough.
That’s why I worked across the aisle to introduce a bipartisan bill that provides many solutions to the problems facing our hardworking small business owners. Yesterday, President Trump signed into law the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act, which was passed unanimously by the Senate earlier this week. This legislation, which I introduced with my colleagues in the Senate, allows businesses to use PPP funds to the fullest potential.
The PPP Flexibility Act:
- Increases forgiveness for expenses from 8-weeks to 24-weeks.
- Increases amount of non-payroll expenses permitted from 25% to 40%.
- Eliminates restrictions that limit loan terms to 2 years.
- Ensures full access to payroll tax deferment for businesses that take PPP loans.
- Extends the rehiring deadline to align with the expiration of enhanced Unemployment Insurance.
- Adjusts program’s standards to account for economic realities following the coronavirus pandemic.
If economic conditions prevent businesses from reaching pre-coronavirus revenue levels and businesses aren’t able to rehire all employees, this legislation would make sure businesses are still able to receive loan forgiveness.
It is my hope that these adjustments to the PPP will benefit businesses in North Carolina and help us on the road to recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
All the best,
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