WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV), a member of the Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship, announced the introduction of her Keeping Our Promise to Small Businesses Act, legislation that would allow for all Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) applications that were submitted on or before May 4th – when PPP funding unexpectedly ran out early – to be able to receive the funding they were promised if their applications are approved by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). Additionally, the bill would provide $5 billion through the end of May to fund approved applications of small businesses with 100 or fewer employees in hard-hit states with greater than 6.0 percent unemployment rate, like Nevada – giving preference to women, minority, and veteran-owned small businesses. The bill fulfills a promise Congress made to small business owners when it passed a Rosen-backed bill, later signed into law, to extend PPP Second Draw through May 31st.
“Congress has a responsibility to help small businesses recover from the economic hardship brought on by COVID-19,” dijo el Senador Rosen. “As a member of the Senate Small Business Committee, providing relief to business owners and workers has been one of my top priorities. I’m proud to introduce this legislation to ensure small business owners in hard-hit states like Nevada – particularly those from our most vulnerable communities – are able to access the relief Congress promised and that they need to keep their doors open. Nevada’s small businesses are the engines that power our economy in the Silver State, and I will continue to work on forward-thinking legislation to help them overcome this difficult time and thrive.”
BACKGROUND: Specifically, the Keeping Our Promise to Small Businesses Act would:
- Provide the Paycheck Protection Program general fund with such sums as may be necessary to fulfill the processing of all PPP applications that were submitted to SBA on or before May 4, 2021, when PPP unexpectedly ran out of funding 27 days early;
- Provide an appropriation of $5 billion for the remainder of the PPP authorization period ending on May 31, 2021, to fund approved applications of eligible small businesses with 100 or fewer employees in states with greater than 6.0 percent unemployment rate in March 2021 – which includes the state of Nevada – with preference for women, minority, and veteran-owned small businesses.
los Keeping Our Promise to Small Businesses Act is endorsed by the Las Vegas Urban Chamber, the Las Vegas Asian Chamber, the Latin Chamber, the Henderson Chamber, the Reno + Sparks Chamber, and the Vegas Chamber.
Nevada is home to:
- 47,282 small businesses with fewer than 50 employees;
- More than 70,000 minority-owned small businesses;
- More than 23,000 veteran-owned small businesses – 1 in 8 small businesses in Nevada overall.
Senator Rosen has been a champion for small business relief programs to help save jobs in Nevada. Last month, Senator Rosen helped increase the cap on Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) for small businesses from $150,000 per business to $500,000 per business (and received a commitment that the cap would be raised to $2 million), the result of a year-long legislative effort that included introducing bipartisan legislation, raising the issue in multiple Senate hearings and floor speeches, and working with the Biden Administration. These low-interest loans can be used to pay for small business operating expenses.
On March 6, 2021, Senator Rosen voted in support of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (P.L. 117-2), which provided small business relief, including:
- $25 billion for direct aid to restaurants via a new Restaurant Revitalization Fund;
- $15 billion in new EIDL grants for small businesses, in line with the amount in Senator Rosen’s EIDL for Small Businesses Act; and
- $7.25 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program, including expanded eligibility.
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