Cruz Calls For Simplified PPP Loan Forgiveness Process

United States Senator Ted Cruz announced on Monday that he has co-sponsored legislation that would simplify the process of forgiving PPP loans for small businesses. The announcement comes as thousands of small businesses are hurting in the United States due to the coronavirus.

The legislation, Paycheck Protection Small Business Forgiveness Act, would apply to businesses that participated in the Paycheck Protection Program and received a PPP loan of $150,000 or less. According to a press release, this legislation would make it easier to have those loans forgiven.

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is one of 30 of his Senate colleagues to cosponsor the bipartisan Paycheck Protection Small Business Forgiveness Act, legislation that would streamline forgiveness for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans of $150,000 or less if the borrower submits a simple, one-page attestation form to the lender.

Approximately 4.2 million PPP loans of $150,000 or less account for 85 percent of all PPP approved loans but only 26 percent of the PPP funds delivered. The bill is endorsed by over 200 trade groups and associations, earning the support of small business groups like the National Federation of Independent Business, local and national lending associations representing credit unions and bankers, and labor groups like the Independent Electrical Contractors. Learn more about the bill here.

Upon cosponsoring this legislation, Sen. Cruz said:

“America’s small businesses are the backbone of our economy and we have asked them to do a lot this year. Shutdown to bend the curve. Apply for a government loan to keep employees on the payroll. Reopen the economy safely. Provide PPE to your employees. Providing a simplified loan forgiveness process for small business owners will help lessen the burden they have shouldered due to coronavirus. It’s the least Congress can do to help them get back on their feet and help get people safely back to work.”

Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND), who introduced the bipartisan legislation with Sens. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), added:

“The Paycheck Protection Small Business Forgiveness Act would give our small businesses peace of mind and remove the anxiety placed on them by the bureaucracy’s cumbersome forgiveness process. I am grateful to my colleagues for their support, and I look forward to working with them to pass our bill when the Senate returns in September.”

In June, Sen. Cruz joined Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) in sending a bipartisan letter urging the Department of the Treasury and the Small Business Administration (SBA) to simplify the loan forgiveness application for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). A streamlined loan forgiveness application will help lenders efficiently process applications and ensure small businesses, that have continued to support their employees during the coronavirus pandemic, can more quickly receive loan forgiveness. Read the full letter here.

Thousands of business in Texas, including many here in Lubbock participated in the PPP program.