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NAFCU-sought legislation to streamline the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) paycheck protection (PPP) loan forgiveness process was introduced by Reps. Chrissy Houlahan, D-Penn., and Fred Upton, R-Mich., in the House following the association’s continuous call for further guidance on the PPP loan forgiveness process. The legislation, introduced Friday with 19 bipartisan cosponsors, is aimed at assisting America’s smallest businesses as they recover from the current economic crisis.

“NAFCU thanks Representatives Chrissy Houlahan and Fred Upton, along with their fellow cosponsors, for introducing bipartisan legislation that would allow small businesses to focus their recovery efforts on reopening their storefronts, hiring workers and serving community needs – instead of processing complex paperwork,” said NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger. “The coronavirus pandemic has sent shockwaves through our economy, and it is important policymakers work to free up small businesses’ limited resources so they can successfully help our economy recovery from the crisis. While we work to get American small businesses up and running again, credit unions – including hundreds of CDFIs and MDIs – continue to work tirelessly to ensure our communities have the resources they need to weather the pandemic.”

The bill, in conjunction with the Senate’s Paycheck Protection Small Business Forgiveness Act, calls for streamlined forgiveness of PPP loans less than $150,000 if the borrower answers a simple, one-question attestation the funds were used in accordance to PPP guidelines to retain employees.

The Senate’s legislation was introduced earlier this month by Sens. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and Robert Menendez, D-N.J. NAFCU actively sought for the automatic forgiveness of small dollar PPP loans for the benefit of both small businesses and credit unions that are recovering from the coronavirus pandemic and may have strained financial and human resources. 

In addition, the SBA Thursday released a procedural notice announcing that the portal for lenders to submit PPP loan forgiveness applications will launch Aug. 10.

For more information on the PPP, access NAFCU’s regularly updated FAQs.