CBA Calls for Congressional Action on Bipartisan PPP Reform

September 10, 2020

CBA Calls for Congressional Action on Bipartisan PPP Reform

 

WASHINGTON – Consumer Bankers Association President and CEO Richard Hunt issued the following statement after the Senate’s failed vote on a COVID-19 stimulus package:

 

“If Congress cannot reach an agreement on a larger stimulus bill quickly, they should take up and immediately pass bipartisan legislation supported by a third of the Senate and a large contingency in the House to streamline the forgiveness process for mom-and-pop businesses who received Paycheck Protection Program loans.  

 

“Congress started PPP as a lifeline for small businesses and their employees, now they must finish the job.”

 

NOTE: The bipartisan House and Senate legislation, H.R. 7777 and S. 4117, introduced by Reps. Chrissy Houlahan (D-Penn.) and Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and Sens. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.),  calls for streamlined forgiveness of PPP loans less than $150,000 if the borrower answers a simple, one-question attestation the funds were used in accordance to PPP guidelines to retain employees. Nothing in the legislation prevents the audit of PPP loans less than $150,000 for fraud. According to independent analysis by AQN Strategies, simplified or automatic forgiveness could collectively save the smallest small businesses owners more than $7 billion dollars and hours of paperwork.