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Senate Fails To Boost Paycheck Protection Program After Partisan Clash

WASHINGTON ― An effort to quickly provide more funding for a new program designed to prevent layoffs at small businesses went down in flames in the Senate on Thursday as lawmakers from both parties accused each other of holding hostage added relief for millions of Americans struggling during the coronavirus pandemic.

At issue was the Paycheck Protection Program that Congress included in its $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus bill less than two weeks ago. The program has experienced a rocky rollout ― with many business owners reporting difficulties in either applying for or receiving a loan.

Businesses with fewer than 500 employees are eligible for loans to cover two months of payroll costs, with a $10 million limit, that are supposed to be forgiven if the firm avoids layoffs or big pay cuts. The funds are supposed to be disbursed through banks, which are in charge of vetting applicants.

On paper, the program has the potential to be the most significant part of the government’s response to the economic impact of the pandemic, which has shuttered businesses and resulted in an unprecedented 16 million unemployment claims in just three weeks. Under the terms of the program, companies could hire some of those workers back with the government paying their wages for two months.

The Small Business Administration, which administers the program with backing from the U.S. Treasury Department, said Thursday that there have been “454,000 applications totaling nearly $118 billion” at more than 3,800 lending institutions.

It’s not clear, however, how much of that $118 billion has actually made its way to businesses, which have complained of a chaotic application process as banks either didn’t take applications or restricted them to only certain existing customers.

Seven company owners told HuffPost on Thursday that they’d applied for loans, but had not yet received them and didn’t know when they will.

Republicans wanted to quickly approve $250...

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