On Thursday, the House of Representatives passed bipartisan legislation to provide businesses with more flexibility while using loans provided through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020 (H.R. 6886) would give small businesses up to 24 weeks, up from the current eight weeks, to use the loans and extend the deadline for rehiring workers from June 30th to the end of this year. It would also give small businesses the ability to spend more of the loan money on non-payroll costs. The current terms of the loans require recipients to use 75 percent of the funds on payroll and up to 25 percent on other costs to qualify for loan forgiveness. This updated legislation would change the ratio to at least 60 percent on payroll and up to 40 percent on rent, overhead and other costs. The bill passed the House easily by a vote of 417-1 and is expected to pass the Senate next week with a few adjustments, including extending the time frame for small businesses to spend the funds to 16 weeks, rather than 24.
