RECAP - Senator Cramer Outlines Business Grant

March 27, 2020 - 1:29pm | By Steve Hallstrom

For any small business owners/execs out there -- ND Senator Cramer was in the Senate committee that helped write the Payroll Protection Act (the loan that turns into a grant) and is part of the CARES Act that passed the House today. He was on my 7 pm show after the Senate passed it, and talked about what this means to small businesses. As the House passed this bill quickly, it's reasonable to assume that the bill was left generally intact. I hope this summary of his key points is helpful to small business owners and execs who are interested in taking advantage of it.

· It is called the Paycheck Protection Program.

· You do not go through the SBA portal for this. Other programs yes, not this one.

· It's backed by the SBA but not managed by the SBA. You won’t go through the SBA portal for this one.

· This program goal according to Steve Mnuchin, is to have the banks ready to start the program by the end of next week.

· Banks are preparing already to start writing checks to businesses.

· It allows you to finance payroll and qualifying expenses (rent, utilities, mortgage) retroactive to February 15.

· Qualifying businesses and non-profits are eligible for loans up to 2.5 times their monthly payroll costs, measured over the prior twelve months

· Applies to businesses with 500 employees or less · No collateral required

· After the end of program all you borrowed is forgiven if you retain your staff.

· It’s a grant disguised as a loan.

· The intent is to skip the bureaucracy.

· The incentive is to encourage businesses to keep people on even if they can’t come to work.