Republicans sought to approve an additional $250 billion for the program last week, but the effort stalled with Democrats also wanting changes to the program and more aid for other groups. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and Mnuchin talked Wednesday as negotiations continue.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy accused Democrats in a joint statement on Wednesday of blocking emergency aid and treating a bipartisan program “like a Republican priority which they need to be goaded” into backing.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Democrats are pushing for changes that will allow help for small businesses that have been shut out of the program because they don’t have access to a lender, as well as provide more funding for “desperate” state and local governments and hospitals.
The program, which was enacted last month as part of a $2.2 trillion relief package in response to the outbreak, offers loans of as much as $10 million. The loans convert to grants if proceeds are used to keep workers on the payroll and cover rent and other approved expenses for about two months, a short-term stopgap designed to help businesses get by until the economy reopens.
The initiative got off to a rocky start after Trump administration officials said that small businesses would get funding quickly, even the same day they applied. But some borrowers couldn’t find banks to take their applications if they didn’t already have a lending relationship, and lenders couldn’t process loans because of vague guidance and an overwhelmed SBA computer system.
Of the more than 1 million applications that SBA had processed as of Monday, construction firms had a larger share of loans approved than other industries so far, followed by professional, scientific and technical service companies, manufacturers and health care and social assistance firms. The average loan amount for all applications approved was $239,152, an SBA report shows.
“Oh my god,” said Alex Steed, co-owner of Knack Factory, a video production firm in Portland, Maine, that’s awaiting funding for a loan. “This is playing out just about exactly how I expected it to. It never felt like this was for small business owners anyway, or manufactured with our needs in mind.”
This article provided by Bloomberg News.