After a stumbling start, the government’s centerpiece relief program for small businesses was closing down yesterday — although it may turn out to be a temporary hiatus, the New York Times reported. In just three months, the Paycheck Protection Program handed out $520 billion in loans meant to preserve workers’ jobs during the coronavirus pandemic. But as new outbreaks spike across the country and force many states to rethink their plans to reopen businesses, the program had more than $130 billion still in its coffers. It might not be closed down for long, though. Just a few hours before the program was scheduled to shut down late yesterday, the Senate approved a five-week extension for the program to August 8. It wasn’t clear when the House might take up the bill. Read more.
In related news, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin testified at a House Financial Services Committee hearing that up to $140 billion in loans for small business could be refocused to support restaurants, hotels and other industries hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic, Reuters reported. Mnuchin said it appeared there was support among Democrats and Republicans to “repurpose” the money, perhaps by tailoring it to hotels, restaurants and other businesses most impacted by the social-distancing measures adopted to fight the spread of the novel coronavirus. Mnuchin was testifying along with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell before the U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee about the U.S. fiscal and monetary response to the coronavirus crisis, including the nearly $3 trillion allocated by Congress to help businesses and individuals. Read more.
