Help coming for small businesses.

Considering how many small businesses there are in the U.S., I’m most interested in the provisions of H.R. 748 — the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act — that affect them. After all, small businesses are the major employers of America.

There are 30,748,033 small businesses, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s “2019 Small Business Profile,” employing 59,915,217 people, based on the most recent count (2016 data). Of course, that count was taken before businesses had to lay off workers due to the coronavirus pandemic that we are all experiencing.

Legislators are hearing from small-business owners every day, said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging. They are: “anxious about the future of their businesses and how they can continue to pay their employees. The last thing they want to do is to lay off their employees, but they fear they may have no choice. When these businesses suffer, it has a cascading effect on workers, from housekeepers to waitstaff to bartenders to fishermen to drivers to retail clerks.”

The CARES Act passed in the Senate on Wednesday, March 25, by a 96-0 vote and was acted on by the House on Friday. It includes a small-business emergency economic relief plan to help small businesses meet their payroll and expenses, and receive education and assistance throughout the coronavirus pandemic. “Our bipartisan small business package, which was included, will pro-vide emergency relief so that millions of American workers can keep their jobs and millions of small businesses can stay open,” said Sen. Marco

Rubio, R-Fla., chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.

Quoting a release from Rubio’s office, one program would provide eight weeks of cash-flow assistance through 100 percent federally guaranteed loans to small employers who maintain their payroll during this emergency. If the employer maintains its payroll, then the portion of the loan used for covered payroll costs, interest on mortgage obligations, rent and utilities would be forgiven, which would help workers to remain employed and affected small businesses and our economy to recover quickly from this crisis. This proposal would be retroactive to Feb. 15, 2020, to help bring workers who may have already been laid off back onto payrolls.

Now, I’d like to tell you exactly how small businesses can take advantage. But that will have to wait. Most importantly, help for small business owners is on its way.

The act also provides funds for counseling, training and related assistance to small businesses affected by COVID-19 to SBA re-source partners, including Small Business Development Centers and Women’s Business Centers and $10 million for the Minority Business Development Agency’s Minority Business Centers and Minority Chambers of Commerce.

The Act also allows expedited access to capital through a loan program for small businesses that have applied for an EIDL loan to request an advance of up to $10,000 on the loan to provide paid sick leave to employees, maintaining payroll and other debt obligations.

When I visited with a local restaurant owner a few weeks ago, the subject of loans came up. The restaurateur said to me: “What’s the point? That’s not real money. It’s fake.”

That is not the case. The act provides that the SBA will pay all principal, interest and fees “on all new and existing SBA loan products including 7(a), Community Advantage, 504, and

Microloan programs for six months, and provides $17 billion for this purpose.”

That’s real. But you have to qualify for the loan. Your senator or congressperson’s office will help you do that.

You can also check with your local municipality for local initiatives.

For example, at 9 p.m. today, I received an email from the office of Sen. Christopher Murphy, DConn., announcing the Small Business Bridge Loan Program launched by Gov. Ned Lamont and the state Department of Economic development. The program is designed to help small businesses employing fewer than 100 people and nonprofits affected by the coronavirus. Learn more at https://bit.ly/2ybkRLC

As Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., explained before the passage by the Senate, “New Hampshire’s small businesses owners are lying awake at night worried about whether they can stay afloat and keep their employees on payroll.”

Soon, they will be able to sleep soundly.

For more information, read “Rubio Applauds Passage of Phase 3 Coronavirus Emergency Relief Bill” (March 25, 2020) at https:// tinyurl.com/urcrkes.

Also read Bipartisan Small Business Task Force Unveils Final $377 Billion Emergency Coronavirus Relief Package which you can find at https://tinyurl. com/unqbozq. For information about the coronavirus, cdc.gov/coronavirus. For information for Connecticut residents, visit ct.gov/coronavirus.

Julie Jason, JD, LLM, a personal money manager (Jackson, Grant of Stamford) and author, welcomes your questions/comments (readers@juliejason.com). Her awards include the 2018 Clarion Award, symbolizing excellence in clear, concise communications. Her latest book, a curated collection of Julie’s columns, is “Retire Securely: Insights on Money Management From an Award-Winning Financial Columnist.” To hear Julie speak, visit juliejason.com/events.