In a surprising development, the Congress extended the PPP loan program through August 8, 2020 in S.4116.[1] The President signed the bill into law on July 4, 2020.

Under the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act and the CARES Act the PPP program was to terminate on June 30, 2020. However, late in the day on June 30, the U.S. Senate took up a bill introduced by Senator Cardin, ranking member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, passing the bill by unanimous consent. The bill was then sent to the House of Representatives who also passed the bill unanimously on July 1, sending the bill to the President for his signature.

The bill extends the PPP program through the date that Congress is scheduled to adjourn for its August recess. This bill was passed just before Congress adjourned for the Fourth of July, providing time for the Senate Republicans to develop a proposed new bill that would be used to negotiate with the House who has already passed a Democratic developed bill (the HEROES Act).

Note that this bill does not allow businesses that had already obtained a PPP loan to obtain another one, but rather allows those qualified businesses that did not obtain a PPP loan additional time to apply. The passage may indicate that rising numbers of COVID-19 cases in a number of states may have convinced Congress that they had to be seen as doing something before leaving town, and that they also expect to eventually negotiate another package to deal with the impact of COVID-19 on the economy.

[1] S.4116, July 1, 2020, https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/4116/text (retrieved July 1, 2020)