Joins letter asking for shorter, simpler application from Treasury Department
As many local businesses struggle during the coronavirus pandemic Congressman Fred Keller is seeking to make the application process for Paycheck Protection Program loan forgiveness easier.
Friday, Keller joined dozens of other members in Congress in appealing to the Treasury Department and Small Business Administration to make the process of applying for loan forgiveness under the Paycheck Protection Program simpler and more streamlined.
The current loan forgiveness application, released on May 15, 2020, is lengthy and does not match the simpler process of applying for the loan. This application has created a large burden on the many small businesses seeking forgiveness of their paycheck protection loan.
The lawmakers are seeking a shorter and simpler application, more in line with the process needed to first apply for the Paycheck Protection Program loan, for businesses receiving less than $350,000 in loan dollars.
To date, 95 percent of Paycheck Protection Program loans have been less than $350,000.
“The loans are intended to be forgiven if small businesses follow the rules provided by Congress, and the guidance published by U.S. Department of Treasury and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). Unfortunately, the recently-published forgiveness application places an undue burden on America’s smallest businesses and the lenders that are assisting them through this process,” the letter reads in part.
“The length, documentation requirements and complexity of the forgiveness application would be incredibly daunting and time consuming for many constituent small businesses and the small community lenders whom the government deputized to administer assistance. Many constituent small business owners indicated they will need to hire outside legal and accounting help, at great additional expense, to confidently complete the application. This makes little sense for mom and pop businesses with few employees, a small payroll and cash flow challenges stemming from an involuntary, government-imposed interruption of their operations. Likewise, most community financial institutions that originated small PPP loans have neither the staff nor the forensic auditing expertise to assist their borrowers with the extensive forgiveness application provided by the SBA.
“The smallest businesses should not be saddled with the same forgiveness reporting burden as larger businesses with larger loans,” the letter states.
You can read a full copy of the letter HERE.
On Friday afternoon, Governor Tom Wolf announced Lycoming County will be moving into the “Green” phase on June 5.
