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Berger calls on Congress to act fast on additional PPP funding
Yesterday, the Small Business Administration (SBA) announced that all of the original $349 billion in funding for its paycheck protection program (PPP) had been fully allocated. As the industry's Washington Watchdog, NAFCU has been committed to ensuring credit unions have all the resources needed to effectively participate in the program since its launch and will continue to advocate for further funding for the program.
The Senate may again consider additional funding for the PPP when they meet Monday, after two pro-forma sessions this week failed to do so. Until then, NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger is urging policymakers to prevent the current public health crisis from turning into a “full-fledged economic crisis, too.”
“Today, many credit unions have a large number of pending loan applications from small business owners looking for emergency financial assistance,” said Berger after the announcement that the PPP funds were fully allocated. “With credit unions heavily engaged in serving underserved communities, which have been hit the hardest during this economic downturn, it is imperative policymakers set aside a portion of additional funding for credit unions.”
Relatedly, the Federal Reserve announced Thursday that the PPP liquidity facility is now fully operational.
In a letter to Congress earlier this week, NAFCU Vice President of Legislative Affairs Brad Thaler also advocated for a portion of the additional funds be set aside for community financial institutions, as well as to provide the Community Development Financial institutions (CDFI) Fund and the NCUA’s Community Development Revolving Loan Fund (CFLRF) with additional emergency funds “as they are important tools for credit unions to have access to funds to help those in underserved and lower-income areas.” The NCUA this week announced that the majority of this year's CDRLF would be allocated for coronavirus-related grants.
NAFCU Director of Political Affairs Chad Adams is also encouraging credit unions to join the association in its advocacy by calling on their respective representatives and senators to approve additional funding for the PPP.
NAFCU's Grassroots Action Center is a great resource for credit unions to easily contact lawmakers and share how their actions are impacting individual institutions, members, and communities. In addition, the Grassroots Action Center also provides access to voter registration, candidate lookup, and more.
Credit unions can contact Adams directly or NAFCU's advocacy team for help with outreach to members of Congress or questions on NAFCU's grassroots advocacy efforts.
Stay tuned to NAFCU Today for the latest information on the PPP and Congress' efforts. The association has a set of PPP FAQs available and recently provided additional insights on the member-only Lending Network.
Access all NAFCU's coronavirus resources here.