Congress passes bill enhancing PPP

WASHINGTON--Congress recently passed a bill adding flexibility to the Paycheck Protection Program.

Changes passed by the House and Senate to the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program offers farmers and ranchers more flexibility. American Farm Bureau Federation Economist Veronica Nigh says the changes should help farmers utilize the program much more easily.

"Under the previous version, any loan proceeds that you received had to be used within eight weeks of getting the funds. The new bill extends that period to 24 weeks. The other thing is previously, for the loan to be forgiven, at least 75 percent of the costs had to come from payroll. The new bill lowers that threshold down to 60 percent," said Nigh

Nigh says the legislation also extends the deadline to apply for PPP funds from June 30 to December 31, 2020.

“It’s also important that any new loans that are made after this bill is signed into law, the amount of time you have to pay the loan back is extended from the previous two years to five years. Now, that doesn’t apply to loans that are already in effect. But, the SBA and Congress certainly suggest that borrows reach out to their lender to see if they might be able to get their payback period extended to that five years,” said Nigh

Through the two rounds of PPP funding, Nigh says Congress has allocated roughly $670 billion for the program, with more than $120 billion still available.

“Hopefully, the flexibilities and the extensions that have been provided in the new bill will increase the share of farmers and ranchers who are utilizing the program. Because, thus far, through May 30, only 1.5 percent of the total obligated funds have been used for agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting operations," said Nigh