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House Approves Two-Month PPP Extension

Posted on Mar. 17, 2021

The House overwhelmingly approved a bipartisan deal to extend the popular Paycheck Protection Program by two months, giving borrowers and lenders more time to complete and process applications.

The PPP Extension Act of 2021 (H.R. 1799), which has the backing of House Small Business Committee Chair Nydia M. Velázquez, D-N.Y., and ranking member Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-Mo., would extend the PPP deadline to the end of May and give the Small Business Administration an additional 30 days to process loans.

The program is scheduled to close on March 31. The proposal has the support of organizations including the American Institute of CPAs, following complaints that loan reviews by the SBA have hampered the speed of the process.

The bill, which was introduced by freshman Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux, D-Ga., and passed by a vote of 415 to 3, was fast-tracked through the House in a procedure that required a two-thirds vote. The bill now moves to the Senate, which has approved similar measures through voice vote. Sens. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., Benjamin L. Cardin, D-Md., and Susan M. Collins, R-Maine, who previously worked together to create the small business loan program, introduced a measure to extend the PPP.

The extension also could benefit nonprofits and other organizations that were previously excluded from the PPP. The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (P.L. 117-2), enacted March 11, expanded the program to include larger nonprofits that employ fewer than 500 employees and internet-only news publishers with 500 or fewer employees.

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