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Senate Passes Bill to Afford More Flexibility to Small Businesses Using the Paycheck Protection PlanShare this on Facebook

The US Senate passed a bill on Wednesday to clarify and, in some cases, ease rules surrounding how small businesses can use the Paycheck Protection Program. The bill was approved by the US House last week by a vote of 417-1.

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) initially blocked a Democratic effort to have the bill approved by a unanimous consent vote. Under such a procedure, any one senator can stop such an action by voicing opposition, which Johnson did. According to Roll Call, Johnson wanted assurances that parts of the bill could be further clarified at a later date, specifically that the proposed extension of PPP would apply on to spending the funds, not the application date.

Approval of the bill means it would (courtesy of Construction Dive):

•  Extend the “covered period” for PPP loans from eight to 24 weeks.
•  Change the use of funds forgiveness requirement from 75% payroll
   costs/25% non-payroll costs to 60% payroll costs/40% non-payroll costs.
•  Create a safe harbor for employers that made a good faith effort to hire or
    rehire qualified employees.
•  Extend the maturity of PPP loans from two to five years.
•  Allow PPP loan recipients to defer payroll taxes through the end of 2020.

You can read more about the bill’s passage here and here.