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BOWLING GREEN, KY – Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02) today announced that the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) has reopened for applications from small businesses.

The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) was established in the CARES Act, which Guthrie voted for last month, to help small businesses continue to pay its employees during the coronavirus outbreak. This program ran out of the initial $349 billion in funding two weeks ago, but last week Guthrie voted for the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act to fund the program with an additional $310 billion.

“Small businesses are the backbone of our economy, and we need to help them during this unprecedented time,” said Guthrie. “The PPP is designed to help small businesses stay open and continue to pay their employees. I encourage any small business owner in the Second District to apply for the PPP, even if you were initially denied because funding ran out. We want to help as many businesses as we can while sadly many parts of our economy are temporarily shut down.”

The Paycheck Protection Program is operated through the Small Business Administration’s 7(a) Loan Program for small employers, self-employed individuals, and “gig economy” workers. The program provides 8 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 payroll, the portion of the loans used for covered payroll costs, interest on mortgage obligations, rent, and utilities will be forgiven, which will help workers to remain employed, help affected small businesses complete payroll,  and help our economy to recover quickly from this crisis.

The PPP and Health Care Enhancement Act provides an additional $310 billion to fund the PPP, as well as $60 billion for the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Economic Injury Disaster Loan program, $75 billion for hospitals and health care providers, and $25 billion to expand COVID-19 testing.

More information about the PPP can be found on Guthrie’s website here. Interested small businesses owners can search for a lender here.

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