President Trump has signed into law an interim spending bill allocating additional funds for emergency aid programs for small businesses. Many REALTORS® are eligible for these aid programs.
Specifically, the law allocates:
$310 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which provides forgivable loans to small businesses, including REALTORS®. Of this allocation, $60 billion has been set aside for community banks, credit unions, and community development financial institutions, which can better serve smaller businesses and minority-owned firms, organizations that are less likely to have an existing relationship with a larger bank.
$60 billion for the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, to provide $50 billion in loans and $10 billion in emergency grants to small businesses, including REALTORS®.
$25 billion for coronavirus testing and $75 billion for hospitals.
Both the PPP and EIDL programs will proceed with the same eligibility criteria and application processes as they did prior to running out of funding last Thursday, April 16. These funds are expected to be expended very quickly.
The SBA will make additional coronavirus-related financial assistance available to small businesses beginning on Monday.