- Isabella Casillas Guzman provides an update on the U.S. Small Business Administration’s COVID-19 relief programs
- Demand far outstrips available funding in a grant program for restaurants, but a program for live venues and cultural institutions should be able to fund all applicants
- As the Paycheck Protection Program winds down, more than 3.3 million forgiveness applications have been processed
Summary by Dirk Langeveld
Isabella Casillas Guzman, head of the U.S. Small Business Administration, recently appeared before the House Small Business Committee to provide an update on the agency’s COVID-19 relief programs.
About $1 trillion has been made available to the nation’s approximately 30 million small businesses, according to the committee. The bulk of this funding was made available through the Paycheck Protection Program.
- The Restaurant Revitalization Fund, which stopped accepting applications on Monday, has received funding requests from more than 362,000 businesses, including 208,000 businesses owned by women, veterans, and socially or economically disadvantaged individuals who will receive priority access. Applicants are seeking $75 billion, but only $28.6 billion has been allocated for the grant program.
- The Shuttered Venue Operators Grant program, which will benefit a variety of live venues and cultural organizations, has received 12,841 applications seeking $11 billion. The SBA should be able to fund all requests, as the program has $16.2 billion available.
- The SBA has approved 6.48 million PPP loans totaling $273.7 billion following the program’s revival. Guzman said 95 percent of the loans are going to businesses with fewer than 20 employees. The program is largely closed to new applications, but some funding remains for loans originated through community financial institutions before the program’s May 31 deadline.
- The SBA has processed more than 3.3 million PPP forgiveness applications, or more than 60 percent of the 2020 loans. A total of $279.4 billion has been forgiven, with more than 99 percent of applicants receiving full forgiveness.
