Biden Extends Small Business Loan Program (March 30, 2:30 p.m. ET)
President Biden on Tuesday signed legislation extending the period small businesses have to apply for forgivable loans to help offset costs of the coronavirus pandemic, hailing it as a “bipartisan accomplishment.”
The legislation will extend the deadline for the Paycheck Protection Program to May 31 from March 31, Bloomberg reported, giving businesses two additional months to apply. The legislation also provides the Small Business Administration an additional 30 days to process loans, in a bid to address longer wait times after the government began more strictly screening applications to prevent fraud.
The SBA says it has approved more than 8.7 million loans valued at over $734 billion. Some $194.5 billion has already been forgiven by the government, according to the agency’s data.
