Schumer announces bill for continued paycheck protection at dry cleaner aided by plan
GLENS FALLS, N.Y. (NEWS10) – The Paycheck Protection Program has done a lot to help small businesses to pay rent, support employees and hold onto hope of keeping doors open once COVID-19 is no longer an active concern. With owners facing an Aug. 8 expiration date on the program, U.S. Senator Charles Schumer visited Feigenbaum Cleaners on Thursday morning to talk about a new plan forward.
Schumer announced the Prioritized Paycheck Protection Program Act, a PPP continuation that would offer financial aid until the end of 2020. He said the act is bipartisan and expressed positive feelings about its likelihood of passing.
The bill would offer 2.5 times the monthly payroll costs of a given business, with a ceiling of $2 million. Borrowers would be able to apply for forgiveness as early as eight weeks after the loan has disbursed.
As always, PPP is intended for smaller businesses that would risk closure otherwise, and so will not be made available to publicly traded companies. When asked about corporations taking advantage of PPP funds, Schumer said a task force was preparing to perform an audit on corporations that had accepted funds from the first round of aid, and those who did will be asked to return that money.
The bill would also reserve the lesser 20 percent of PPP funds or $25 billion for employers with 10 or fewer employees.
Feigenbaum Cleaners was one business that relied on PPP funds earlier on in the coronavirus pandemic. They lost 80 percent of their business in late March, and the program made the difference in helping their over 20 employees staffing their four locations.
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