The Small Business Administration’s $349 billion Paycheck Protection Program has officially run out of money.
The notice, posted on the SBA’s website, states the “SBA is currently unable to accept new applications for the Paycheck Protection Program based on available appropriations funding. Similarly, we are unable to enroll new PPP lenders at this time.” The loan program, which offers forgivable loans to small businesses as long as most of the money goes to payroll costs, was first authorized as part of the $2.2 trillion CARES Act passed by Congress and signed into law by President Trump March 27.
Politicians, experts and bankers had been warning the program would run out by the end of this week or sooner without additional appropriated funding.
But Congress has been locked in a stalemate over a possible $250 billion extension, with congressional Democrats pushing for additional funding for hospitals and state and local governments.