WASHINGTON–CUNA has sent a number of letters, including one to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) asking that the Small Paycheck Protection Program Small Business Forgiveness Act (S.4117) be included in any relief package passed by the Senate.
Separately, CUNA also sent a letter to the FHFA regarding the GSEs and their public mission.
In its letter to McConnell, the full version of which can be found here, CUNA stated in part, “S. 4117 would ensure those businesses can focus their time, energy, and resources back into their business and communities instead of allocating significant time and resources into completing complex forgiveness forms,” CUNA President/CEO Jim Nussle wrote.
S. 4117 would simplify forgiveness for covered PPP loans of less than $150,000. Reps. Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA) and Fred Upton (R-MI) introduced a House companion bill July 25.
“PPP loans of $150,000 and under account for 87% of total PPP recipients, but less than 28% of PPP loan dollars. Expediting the loan forgiveness process for many of these hard-hit businesses would save more than $7 billion and hours of paperwork,” continued Nussle. “America’s credit unions have issued thousands of PPP loans to help small business owners recover from the impact of the pandemic. For the country’s smallest credit unions, that amounts to over 60,000 loans averaging just $49,000—a true measure of just how crucial this program has been to the mom and pop organizations that keep Main Street resilient.”
Letter to FHFA
Separately, in a letter, CUNA said it remains strongly supportive of the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s efforts to ensure the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) meet their public mission.
The letter was response to a proposal outlining affordable housing goals for 2021.
The FHFA states that both single-family and multifamily housing goals for 2021 will remain the same as the 2018-2020 levels, but the agency will engage in a new rulemaking next year to establish new levels for 2022 and beyond.
“[W]e acknowledge the constraints that the COVID-19 crisis has currently placed on FHFA’s ability to analyze and project reasonable changes to the existing housing goals and support the continuation of those goals at their current levels for 2021,” the letter reads. “We applaud FHFA’s decision to re-engage with this rulemaking in a year to establish housing goals for subsequent years.”
FHFA’s proposal also requested comment on factors to consider in determining whether a GSE that fails to meet a housing goal must submit a housing plan, including forbearance actions, loss mitigation efforts, loan modifications and other market support activities.
CUNA stated that the rulemaking “should not set a precedent that equates forbearances, loan modifications or other loss mitigation efforts with the Enterprises’ affirmative obligation to meet housing goals.”