WASHINGTON—NAFCU and CUNA have joined with more than 140 other trade groups – representing various industries and businesses – to urge Congress to pass bipartisan legislation that would ease the forgiveness process for paycheck protection program (PPP) loans under $150,000.
The Paycheck Protection Program Small Business Forgiveness Act (S. 4117) would create a one-page attestation document for borrowers who have obtained PPP loans less than $150,000 to obtain forgiveness. The SBA has released a revised, more borrower-friendly PPP loan forgiveness application and an EZ version; however, NAFCU, other groups, and lawmakers continue to warn the forgiveness process remains burdensome and complex.
"PPP loans of $150,000 and under account for 86% of total PPP recipients, but less than 27% of PPP loan dollars," the trades wrote in the letter sent Thursday. "Expediting the loan forgiveness process for many of these hard-hit businesses will save more than $7 billion dollars and hours of paperwork.
"…Small businesses and their employees are the backbone of our nation’s economy and communities. Their time and resources would be better focused on getting the economy safely back up and running, not processing burdensome paperwork," the groups concluded.
Hundreds of credit unions have provided loans through the program, totaling $9.6 billion. The president recently signed an extension to the PPP's authorization to Aug. 8 as roughly $130 billion in funds remained.