October 3, 2020

Congressman Sam Graves (MO-06) released the following statement this week after signing the discharge petition calling for consideration of legislation to extend the Paycheck Protection Program through the end of the year.

“The Paycheck Protection Program expired on August 8th, but the COVID-19 pandemic is still ongoing and American small businesses are still hurting,” said Graves. “For months, we’ve engaged in good faith negotiations trying to get this critical program back up and running. We cannot continue to allow Speaker Pelosi to play politics with this critical assistance for American small businesses and workers.”

Once it reaches 218 signatures, the discharge petition would force a vote on a bill that would utilize remaining money in the program to restart it and allow some businesses to receive a second loan. It would also expand eligibility to 501c6 organizations, expand eligible expenses, and simplify the forgiveness process for those who have received a loan.

In just over 4 months, the Paycheck Protection Program approved more than 5.2 million forgivable loans to small businesses to help them stay open and keep workers on payroll, including 95,599 loans to small businesses in Missouri. In total, more than 51 million American jobs have been supported by the Paycheck Protection Program, which still has $133 billion in unused funds that could be used to help American small businesses weather this pandemic.

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