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A pair of bills were introduced in Congress Thursday to allow small businesses hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic to receive a second paycheck protection program (PPP) loan. The Prioritized Paycheck Protection Program (P4) Act is in response to the recent Office of Inspector General's flash report that determined the PPP did not prioritize underserved and rural areas as Congress had intended.

Sens. Ben Cardin, D-Md., Chris Coons, D-Del., and Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., introduced the Senate bill; Reps. Angie Craig, D-Minn., and Antonio Delgado, D-N.Y., introduced the House companion bill.

The legislation would authorize new lending under the PPP to small businesses with no more than 100 employees, including sole proprietorships and self-employed individuals. Eligible businesses must:

• have already expended an initial PPP loan, or be on pace to exhaust the funding; and
• demonstrate a revenue loss of 50 percent or more due to the coronavirus pandemic.

It would extend the application deadline for initial PPP loans from June 30 to Dec. 30, granting the Small Business Administration (SBA) discretion to extend further if necessary. It would not provide additional funding to the PPP but would use what is remaining to make the P4 loans.

With just over $129 billion of PPP funds remaining as of June 12, the SBA asked lenders to focus on underserved areas before the program sunsets June 30.

Program stakeholders have focused recent efforts on the loan forgiveness process, including NAFCU which is in constant contact with the SBA and Congress to share credit unions' perspective on the PPP. The SBA and Treasury earlier this week released a revised, borrower-friendly PPP loan forgiveness application and an EZ version of the forgiveness application for borrowers that meet certain criteria.

Additional insights on NAFCU's efforts to obtain relief, resources, and guidance for credit unions lending through the PPP are detailed in a new post on NAFCU's member-only Compliance, BSA & Risk Network.