April 1, 2020—Following President Trump’s signing of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the Small Business Administration (SBA) and the Treasury Department have formed a new paycheck program, according to a press release from the SBA.
The CARES Act establishes a new $349 billion Paycheck Protection Program. The legislation provides job retention loans and eight weeks of payroll and certain overhead.
The program will help small businesses access capital quickly at the community level. Applications for emergency capital can begin as early as this week.The program is expected to be up and running by April 3. Businesses can go to a participating SBA lender, bank, or credit union, apply for a loan, and potentially be approved on the same day.
Loans will be forgiven as long as the funds are used to keep employees on the payroll.
