- The Small Business Administration says it’s “unable to accept new applications for the Paycheck Protection Program based on available appropriations funding.”
- It adds: “Similarly, we are unable to enroll new PPP lenders at this time.”
- The first-come, first-serve Paycheck Protection Program of $349 billion had promised to ease some of the financial burden for the nation’s smallest businesses.
Signs that the program was reaching critical capacity first came on Wednesday, when the SBA said the aid may be nearing a ceiling for loan commitments, with more than 1.3 million loans given approval at a value of more than $296 billion. By Wednesday evening, $315 billion had been approved, a person familiar with the situation told CNBC.
Staffers for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi are expected to continue talks with the Treasury Department on Thursday, a senior Democratic aide told CNBC.
Those discussions will follow a similar one Wednesday afternoon as the nation’s top Democrats and Republicans seek to hash out the new funding just a few weeks after Congress passed the historic $2.2 trillion coronavirus relief spending package.
