A $349-billion federal relief program for U.S. small businesses is expected to run out of money this afternoon, with many still waiting to get a lifeline, according to officials familiar with the situation.
The government-guaranteed loans are available on a first-come, first-served basis. But without more funding, many small businesses that have flooded banks with applications won’t get help, advocates said. As of midday Wednesday, the U.S. Small Business Administration reported that more than 1.3 million applications had been approved, totaling about $296 billion of the $349 billion set aside for the Paycheck Protection Program. That’s the value of loans the agency has approved for lenders to disburse, not money that has reached borrowers.An SBA spokeswoman didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The relief package, which was enacted last month in response to the pandemic, offers loans of as much as $10 million. The loans are forgivable if proceeds are used to keep workers on the payroll and cover rent and other approved expenses for about two months, a short-term stopgap designed to help businesses get by until the economy reopens.
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