Biden highlights business loan program changes
President WASHINGTON —
Joe Biden visited a hard- ware store in the nation’s capital Tuesday to highlight changes he made to the Paycheck Protection Program to benefit small businesses he says were overlooked by the Trump administration earlier in the coronavirus pandemic.
Biden administration offi- cials announced last month that for two weeks starting on Feb. 24, the Small Busi- ness Administration would only accept applications for the forgivable loan program from firms with fewer than 20 employees. That’s meant
to ensure that they are not crowded out by larger firms.
The exclusivity period for small businesses ends Tuesday, with White House officials reporting that the effort led to a 20% increase in minority businesses and a 14% increase in women businesses receiving loans. There was also a 12% boost in businesses in rural communities receiving loans, compared to the daily average of the ten days preced
ing the exclusivity period. “We found out that an awful lot of that went to bigger businesses that weren’t supposed to qualify,” Biden said during a visit to W.S. Jenks & Son hardware store.
The Biden administration also changed eligibility rules for the program. Self-employed, sole proprietors and independent contractors can now qualify for more money.
Restrictions prohibiting some business owners who were previously ineligible because of student loan debt and non-fraud felony convictions were also lifted.