One week after the professional groups in accounting and financial services made urgent calls To expand the lending power of the paycheck protection program, senior leaders of the House small business committee have introduced legislation that extends the expiration date by two months.

The Paycheck Protection Program Extension Act, which has among its sponsors Representative Nydia Velazquez, DN.Y., Chair of the Small Business Committee, and Representative Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-Mo., Its member rank, would extend PPP loans until May 31. The bill would also give the Small Business Administration an additional 30 days to process applications submitted up to the loan deadline.

“The demand for PPP loans at this time is a testament to the effectiveness of the program and the lingering impacts of this pandemic,” Velazquez said in a press release. “That is why we cannot stop aid now and this short term extension is so important.”

“This bipartisan legislation will provide a common sense extension to the paycheck protection program and the tools to enable Main Street USA to once again contribute to their local economies,” Luetkemeyer added in the press release.

Representative Young Kim, R-Calif., And Representative Carolyn Bourdeaux, D-Ga., Are also sponsoring the extension bill.

Late Thursday, a bipartisan group of senators, led by Senator Ben Cardin, D-Md., Chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, introduced an identical bill in this chamber. Senator Susan Collins, R-Maine and Senator Jeanne Shaheen, DN.H., joined Cardin in sponsoring Senate legislation.

“With the ongoing distribution of the COVID-19 vaccines, there is a light at the end of the tunnel, but we are not there yet,” Collins said in a press release. “By extending the P3, our bill would help small employers in our country retain access to questionable P3 loans. “

Both bills were introduced a day after the final passage of a $ 1.9 trillion stimulus package that includes $ 7.25 billion in additional P3 funding, bringing the total program funding to $ 814 billion. of dollars. They also follow a House Small Business Committee audience Wednesday during which several witnesses and lawmakers called for an extension of the program.

Several advocacy groups, including the American Bankers Association and the National Association of Self-Employed Workers, were quick to jump on the extension bandwagon on Thursday.

“The bipartisan legislation presented to the House today is directly aligned with what we are hearing from our members across the country,” NASE President and CEO Keith Hall said in a press release.

According to Hall, 88% of NASE members who took part in a recent survey said they supported additional stimulus measures, including expanding PPP lending.

“Banks welcome this effort by lawmakers to expand the program and ensure that struggling small businesses have every chance to have their PPP loans processed and approved,” said Ian McKendry, spokesperson for the ABA. “Right now, some businesses may be at risk because the SBA approval process takes a while. Extending this program, even briefly, will give more small businesses the chance to successfully access the program. this financial lifeline. “

Last month, the Biden administration adjusted the PPP funding formula for independent borrowers to calculate loan amounts on gross income rather than net profits. However, the interim final rule implementing the change took until March 3.

Extending the PPP loan authorization until May would give lenders more time to serve the tens of millions of independent contractors eligible for the most generous funding.

The new stimulus law provides $ 175 million to create a corps of community navigators whose job will be to increase awareness and participation in COVID relief programs, including PPP.

Additional delay will also give the SBA a better opportunity to address system issues that have prevented lenders from uploading some loans to the agency’s loan processing platform and slowed down the processing of others affected by numerous messages. error code.

As of Sunday, the SBA said it had approved 7.6 million PPP loans for $ 687.4 billion.

This story has been updated to include the introduction by the Senate of a companion law.