U.S. House approves revisions of rules for PPP loans

WASHINGTON — The House overwhelmingly approved legislation Thursday that would relax the terms of a federal loan program intended to help small businesses weather the pandemic, giving companies more time and flexibility to use the money.

The measure would alter the Paycheck Protection Program to allow small businesses 24 weeks instead of eight weeks to spend the loan funds, and extend the deadline to apply for a loan from June 30 to Dec. 31.

Without congressional action, some loan recipients will hit the end of their eight-week period within days.

But the bill’s fate is uncertain in the Senate, where a bipartisan group of senators unveiled their own set of revisions last week, including a shorter, 16-week window for spending the loan money.

The bill’s near-unanimous passage in the House marked a rare bit of bipartisanship amid a bitterly partisan debate over the next round of federal coronavirus relief, with Democrats pressing for quick action to provide trillions more in spending and Republicans wanting to wait and consider a far leaner package.

House Democrats’ decision to expedite the changes to the loan program reflected a building sense of urgency among some moderates to put aside that broader dispute and find areas of agreement with Republicans where possible.

This month, House Democrats pushed through a $3 trillion pandemic relief package over Republican opposition, but that bill is doomed in the Senate and faces a veto threat from President Donald Trump.

The small business measure, however, enjoyed strong enough bipartisan support that it was considered Thursday under faster procedures reserved for noncontroversial bills, passing 417-1.

In the Senate, the four architects of the original program — Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Susan Collins of Maine, both Republicans; and Sens. Benjamin Cardin of Maryland and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, both Democrats — have introduced their own modifications.

In addition to the 16-week time frame for repaying the loans, it would allow recipients to use the funds — which were intended to primarily cover payroll expenses — to buy personal protective equipment for their employees as well as renovations to accommodate additional safety measures, like installing a drive-thru window, adding physical barriers or upgrading ventilation systems.