June 17, 2020

Manchin Speaks With SBA Administrator About Changes To Grant And Loan Applications, Invites Her To Visit West Virginia Small Businesses

Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) spoke with Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Jovita Carranza last night on the difficulties West Virginia small businesses are facing accessing the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), invited Administrator Carranza to visit West Virginia small businesses, and urged her to quickly implement critical changes to make these programs work for Main Street businesses. Small businesses can call 1-800-659-2955 or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov to receive SBA assistance.

“Last night I spoke with SBA Administrator Carranza about the challenges West Virginia small businesses have faced accessing EIDL and PPP funds. I was encouraged to hear that the SBA is moving forward to implement some of the important changes I have been calling for such as an easier forgiveness application process and more flexibility to ensure West Virginia small businesses are not penalized for complying with local and state reopening regulations,” said Senator Manchin. “While I am proud to have helped lead the charge to pass the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act earlier this month, I also know that more needs to be done. To show Administrator Carranza firsthand what our small businesses are dealing with, I invited her to join me in West Virginia to visit small businesses who have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and have applied for EIDL and PPP funds to help them stay afloat. Our businesses are hurting during this health crisis and deserve the same level of support as other small businesses across the nation. I look forward to showing Administrator Carranza not only our great small businesses but the resiliency of West Virginians during hard times.”

Today, the U.S. Treasury Department and the SBA released a revised, more borrower-friendly PPP loan forgiveness application implementing the PPP Flexibility Act of 2020 and is encouraging interested businesses to apply before the June 30th deadline. In addition to revising the full forgiveness application, SBA also published a new EZ version of the forgiveness application that applies to borrowers that:

  • Are self-employed and have no employees
  • Did not reduce the salaries or wages of their employees by more than 25%, and did not reduce the number or hours of their employees
  • Experienced reductions in business activity as a result of health directives related to COVID-19, and did not reduce the salaries or wages of their employees by more than 25%

Senator Manchin successfully pushed for these changes through his PPP loan deadline extension and urging Treasury and SBA to simplify the PPP loan application process.

In response to the issues of West Virginia small businesses accessing EIDL funds, Administrator Carranza also announced that the SBA is re-opening EIDL loan applications. Interested businesses are encouraged to visit https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/loans/coronavirus-relief-options/economic-injury-disaster-loan-emergency-advance for more information.