Paycheck Protection Program Hits $349 Billion CARES Act Limit; New Application Processing Suspended

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As Congressional leadership and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin continue to negotiate a potential increase in appropriations for the new Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) administered by the Small Business Administration (SBA), the SBA confirmed on Thursday that the PPP had hit its initial $349 billion appropriation limit approved by Congress under the CARES Act.

At the time of this writing, the SBA website states that it is “unable to accept new applications for the Paycheck Protection Program based on available appropriations funding. Similarly, [the SBA is] unable to enroll new PPP lenders at this time.”

Although the SBA is not currently accepting new PPP applications, eligible borrowers may wish to continue work on their PPP applications (including the compilation of necessary payroll cost and other information) in anticipation of a potential compromise toward additional funding for the PPP.

Given that the initial $349 billion in funding was exhausted in a mere 13 days following more than 1.5 million successful applications, eligible borrowers will want to be prepared to move quickly if and when the PPP reopens to new applications.

The SBA also said that the $10 billion appropriated by Congress for Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) emergency advances had been exhausted.  At the time of this writing, the SBA website states that it is “unable to accept new applications at this time for the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL)-COVID-19 related assistance program (including EIDL Advances) based on available appropriations funding.”