A bipartisan group of senators yesterday unveiled plans to offer more emergency pandemic relief to the country's tiniest employers, a last-minute revamp of Washington's nearly $1 trillion small business rescue that is close to exhausting its funding, Politico reported. The bill introduced by Senate Small Business Chair Ben Cardin (D-Md.) would allow thousands of self-employed Americans to qualify for more aid under the massive Paycheck Protection Program, which offers government-backed loans that can be forgiven if businesses maintain payroll. Cardin and the bill's co-sponsors — including Sens. James Lankford (R-Okla.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) — face a narrow window to pass the legislation because PPP funding is expected to run out in the coming weeks. Their bill would not appropriate additional money. As of last week, the program had $44 billion to lend out of the nearly $292 billion made available by Congress since December. It's unclear how many potential borrowers the bill will help without any more money being pumped into the program. And the legislation doesn't extend the May 31 deadline for loan applications either.
