BGOV OnPoint: Congress Revives PPP Loans for Small Businesses

The Paycheck Protection Program is open again for small businesses seeking funds to keep workers on the payroll during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Virus relief legislation enacted in December (Public Law 116-260; see BGOV Bill Summary) reauthorized the program through March 31, increased its lending authority to $806.5 billion, and allowed some borrowers that exhausted their first loans to receive a second one.

It also made loans available to additional borrowers such as 501(c)(6) groups, tourism bureaus, and local news organizations, and allowed loans to be forgiven for additional expenses such as Covid-19 adaptations and looting repairs. Borrowers...