Geoff Luxenberg

The Biden-Harris Administration and the U.S. Small Business Administration are taking steps to update the Paycheck Protection Program to further promote equitable relief for America’s mom-and-pop businesses by prioritizing these small businesses for PPP funding.

The latest round of Paycheck Protection Program funding opened one month ago, but now major improvements are being implemented to the program in order to aid the most vulnerable businesses:

• For businesses with fewer than ten employees, the share of funding is up nearly 60%.
• For businesses in rural communities, the share of funding is up nearly 30%.
• The share of funding distributed through Community Development Financial Institutions and Minority Depository Institutions is up more than 40%.

In order to maintain this commitment to small businesses, the SBA will:

• Establish a 14-day, exclusive PPP loan application period for businesses and nonprofits with fewer than 20 employees.
• Allow sole proprietors, independent contractors, and self-employed individuals to receive more financial support by revising the PPP’s funding formula for these categories of applicants.
• Eliminate an exclusionary restriction on PPP access for small business owners with prior non-fraud felony convictions, consistent with a bipartisan congressional proposal.
• Eliminate PPP access restrictions on small business owners who have struggled to make federal student loan payments by eliminating federal student loan debt delinquency and default as disqualifiers to participating in the PPP.
• Ensure access for non-citizen small business owners who are lawful U.S. residents by clarifying that they may use Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) to apply for the PPP.

The 14-day exclusivity period will start on Wednesday, February 24, 2021 at 9 a.m., while the other four changes will be implemented by the first week of March.

These actions will help to lay the foundation for a robust and equitable recovery for small businesses across the country. Small businesses employ nearly half of the American workforce; they create 2 out of 3 net new private-sector jobs; they reinvest 68% of revenues to build and sustain communities. Borrowers can apply for the Paycheck Protection Program by downloading the First Draw PPP loan application or Second Draw PPP loan application and working with a participating PPP lender through the SBA Lender Match tool.

For more details, or to apply for a PPP Loan, click here.