(PresidentialWire.Com)- It’s official: The Paycheck Protection Program is out of money already.
It only took two weeks for the $349 billion that Congress allocated to the program as part of the $2 trillion economic stimulus package to be completely used up. The Small Business Administration announced Thursday it had exhausted all the funds it was allotted, shutting down applications and stopping enrolling new lenders for the time being.
President Donald Trump on Thursday said it was actually a good thing that the program is out of money, as it means the program was popular and worked as it was intended to. At the same time, he did say Republicans in Congress were working on a new bill that would add funding to the program — and more general support for small businesses — and he hoped Democrats would hop on board quickly.
Many small businesses are left scrambling now, though, as they don’t have as many options as they did a few days ago to get funding to keep themselves afloat.
While Republicans have made a proposal of their own to support small businesses through more funding, Democrats have balked thus far, countering a proposal that demanded funding and support for non-related programs and priorities. Republicans have accused Democrats of playing politics at a time when many small businesses throughout the country need help desperately.
On Thursday, two Senate Democrats broke rank and called for immediate action to support the program.
In a tweet, Senator Tina Smith, from Minnesota, wrote:
“Minnesota small businesses need relief now. I fought hard for this program and am now pressing for additional funds, faster delivery and implementation improvements to help more Minnesotans get assistance ASAP.”
Likewise, Senator Krysten Sinema from Arizona tweeted a Bloomberg story about a break in the stalemate between Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, and commented:
“Arizona businesses are counting on us to help them during this emergency. I’m calling on leadership in both parties to get thru this stalemate ASAP — we can’t wait longer.”
The Republican proposal would have supported the PPP with an additional $250 billion. But Democrats insisted there that additional support for hospitals as well as state and local governments was attached to that bill.
Despite initial blocks on the bill, though, it seems as if progress was made in negotiations on Thursday. Schumer even tweeted:
“Our small biz programs need more money now. We all agree. But Dems actually want to get it into the hands of all who need it. That’s not what’s happening when websites are crashing, mom & pop shops and minority businesses are shut out, bigger banks are loaning to fav customers.”
Still, some Democrats are sticking to the rhetoric that Republicans are playing political stunts instead of working to get more money approved.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is one of those people, not surprisingly, as she said:
“It’s not that we don’t share the values of small businesses. We do. We have been their champions. But in order for them to succeed, people have to be well. People need to be safe, and we need to have state and local [funding].”
