What is Going on With the Payment Protection Program?

The Payment Protection Program that was created and funded by the CARES Act has has run dry of funding as of yesterday morning. It was last week when Administration officials and Congressional officials warned that funding would soon be depleted. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin asked that Congress appropriate $250 million to avoid a lapse in funding. However, Senate Democrats blocked this measure saying the bill needed to include funding for hospitals and local governments as well. To clarify, I also want our hospitals and local governments to receive funding, but the funding, which was appropriated in the CARES Act, has not come close to running dry like the funding for our small businesses. When we start to see signs of funding for hospitals and local governments near depletion that is when appropriate more funds. 

To date, 1.6 million small business loans have been approved. More funding translates to more loans for business to stay afloat during this crisis. 

A global pandemic is no time to play partisan politics. Twenty-two million Americans have now filed for unemployment since the start of this crisis. That is 22 million reasons for Senate Democrats to say “yes” to this funding.