PPP program is set to expire at the end of the month
Ossoff advocating to extend the deadline until the end of May
Washington, D.C. — Yesterday, Georgia U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff sat down for an interview with WSB-TV in Atlanta to discuss his push to extend the Paycheck Protection Program deadline to the end of May with the program set to expire in just days.
The PPP Extension Act of 2021, which was introduced in the U.S. House by Georgia Congresswoman Carolyn Bourdeaux (GA-07) and passed by a large bipartisan majority this week, would extend the deadline for small businesses to apply for a PPP loan until May 31.
It would also give the Small Business Administration until the end of June to process and approve applications.
The PPP program was first passed last year as part of the CARES Act. Since then, small businesses in Georgia have received more than 260,000 loans to the tune of nearly $19 billion, allowing them to stay afloat during the pandemic.
By the end of the month, the program is estimated to have between $25 to $65 billion remaining.
“I am urging my colleagues in the Senate to extend the PPP program to help Georgia‘s small businesses as we continue to see the economic effects of this pandemic taking a toll,”Senator Ossoff said.
“There’s a real opportunity for bipartisanship here, and I’ve been having great conversations with colleagues on both sides of the aisle about how Georgia’s small businesses really need this support. I hope that we can move this through Congress on a bipartisan basis within the next few days, extending support for small businesses and building on the work we’ve already done with this stimulus bill,” he continued.
“Small businesses have been crushed by this pandemic, and they often don’t have access to the bond markets or the deep cash reserves of major corporations, so restaurants, mom-and-pop shops, and small service-oriented firms in Georgia have taken a huge hit. Many have heroically kept their employees on payroll to help ensure folks are still making a living, even though the economic environment has been so depressed. We are now on the path to recovery, with the stimulus bill being a huge piece of that, and now I’m focused on making sure that within just days, we will extend PPP support so Georgia small businesses get the help they need,” Ossoff said.
The bill is supported by more than 90 leading business organizations, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the National Federation of Independent Businesses, International Franchise Association, the National Restaurant Association, and Small Business Majority.
Small businesses can continue to apply for PPP loans, here.
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