BUFFALO, N.Y. — U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer thinks small businesses should be able to go back for seconds of Paycheck Protection Program.
“Small businesses are suffering more than large businesses, in terms of unemployment and in terms needing help,” Schumer said on a visit on Wednesday morning to Partners Packaging in South Buffalo.
The purpose of the visit was to announce that the U.S. Senator Minority Leader’s top priority for the next COVID relief bill passing through Congress will be to allow businesses with fewer than 100 employees the opportunity to apply for a second infusion of federally-backed loan money through the $875 billion Payroll Protection Program.
“We don’t need more money. There’s a 130-billion dollars that’s sitting there that hasn’t been spent in the money that we’ve allocated,” Schumer said.
The original deadline for applying for a PPP loan was June 30th. That was changed to December 31.
Still, Schumer believes there is bipartisan support to allow small businesses that have already benefited from the program to apply a second time.
Partner’s Packaging is one of those small business that has benefited.
“The PPP played a great role in allowing our company to keep our employees working at full staff ... servicing our essential customers,” co-owner Bob Cefalu said.
Under program rules, if a business receives a PPP loan and retains all employees during the eight weeks of the program, the loan is forgiven and the federal government repays the lender the balance.
