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President Biden Signs Paycheck Protection Program Extension Act into Law

Eric House - Mar 30 2021
Published in: Public Policy
| Updated Apr 27 2023
As the U.S. economy continues to rebound from the effects of the pandemic, this bill extends the deadline by 60 days for submitting PPP loans from 31 March to 31 May and provides the Small Business Association (SBA) until 30 June to process loans.

On 30 March, President Joe Biden signed the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Extension Act of 2021 (H.R. 1799) into law following its passage in the Senate by 92 to 7 on 25 March and in the House by 415 to 3 on 16 March. The bill extends the deadline by 60 days for submitting PPP loans from 31 March to 31 May and provides the Small Business Association (SBA) until 30 June to process loans.

In April 2020, Congress created the PPP through passage of the bipartisan Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). As a result, over the past 12 months, more than 5 million small businesses received PPP loans. Earlier this year, the PPP was reauthorized at $284 billion and was scheduled to expire 31 March. While this extension does not provide any additional funding, it will give small businesses more time to complete existing PPP applications or create new ones.

Worldwide ERC® advocated for an extension to PPP filing for small businesses through the end of the year by signing onto a multi-sector stakeholder letter with 600 business leaders led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on 3 March. The letter points to survey data showing that 66% of minority-owned small businesses fear permanent closure due to the pandemic compared to 57% of non-minority-owned firms, and that minorities have a harder time accessing the capital needed to keep their businesses open. Extending the PPP application deadline through 31 December would ensure that the segment of small businesses facing the greatest obstacles do not get left behind.

While the deadline was extended to 31 May rather than 31 December, the additional time to submit applications will allow the Small Business Association to clear application backlogs, which will ultimately get more PPP loans to small businesses as they work to recover the U.S. economy.

How This Impacts Mobility

Many Worldwide ERC® members are small and medium-sized businesses directly affected by the current economic downturn and will benefit directly by the additional time to file PPP loans. By extending the application timeframe, this is another step towards economic recovery for small businesses in need of assistance while the U.S. strives to recover from the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Should any member have questions regarding this new bill, please reach out to our Vice President of Member Engagement and Public Policy, Rebecca Peters at rpeters@worldwideerc.org.