Senate Approves Additional $310 Billion for the CARES Act-Paycheck Protection Program

Published by Matt Fishman on April 21, 2020April 21, 2020

The U.S. Senate has voted unanimously to approve an additional $310 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) created under the CARES Act.

Through the Small Business Association (SBA), the CARES Act originally allocated $349 billion to support economic injury disaster loans and emergency grants for small businesses, to be used towards payroll costs, company health care plans, and employee salaries. However, last week the SBA announced they were “unable to accept new applications” as they ran out of funding.

Along with the additional funding for the PPP, the Senate has allocated $75 billion for hospitals and health care providers “to prevent, prepare for, and
respond to coronavirus”, and $25 billion “to expand capacity for COVID–19 tests… including personal protective equipment needed for administering tests”.