BRINGIN' IT BACK

White House Reaches Agreement on New $484 Billion Round of Aid to Small Businesses and Hospitals

The Paycheck Protection Program ran out of money before many businesses could apply. New legislation will replenish it.

The White House and Congress came to an agreement Tuesday to provide $484 billion more in aid for struggling small businesses that included additional funding for hospitals and COVID-19 testing, The Washington Post reports. The Paycheck Protection Program began with $349 billion for emergency loans to small business, but it ran out of funding before many businesses could take advantage of it. The legislation to fund it a second time will add $310 billion to its coffers; $60 billion will go to a separate business loan program, $75 billion will go to hospitals, and $25 billion will fund coronavirus testing initiatives.

President Trump, Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, and Mitch McConnell all praised the proposed legislation on Twitter. The new coronavirus has brought a wide swath of businesses to their knees through widespread mandated closures, leading the U.S. government to pass massive stimulus measures to mitigate the damage.