June 03, 2020

Senate Passes Manchin's PPP Loan Deadline Extension

Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) released the following statement after the U.S. Senate passed by unanimous consent a bill to extend the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan forgiveness period from 8 to 24 weeks and amend the rehire date from June 30th to December 31st. This is consistent with Senator Manchin’s PPP DEAL Act which would also extend the coverage period for the loan forgiveness program and amend the rehire date. The bill that passed the Senate today also gave small businesses the flexibility they need to rehire and reopen in accordance with state and local regulations by lifting the arbitrary 25% cap on non-payroll expenses to 40% and clarifying that Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is an allowable expense. Senator Manchin has strongly advocated for both of these changes in response to concerns he heard from impacted West Virginia businesses.

“I’m glad the Senate has finally passed this bipartisan and commonsense proposal to extend the PPP forgiveness period, change the rehire date, and adjust the arbitrary 25% cap. These changes come at no additional cost to taxpayers and provide additional flexibility for small business owners as they adapt to doing business in the era of COVID-19. I am proud to have helped lead the fight to make these commonsense changes that should provide West Virginians more opportunity to get back on their feet and bring employees back in a timeframe that suits their business needs,” Senator Manchin said.