Sen.
Ben Cardin said new PPP loans could be available "as early as
tomorrow."
The full House passed by a 388-5 vote late
Thursday afternoon the $484 billion economic aid bill that includes $320
billion in additional funds for small-business loans under the Paycheck
Protection Program, which passed the Senate Tuesday.
The stimulus bill, the Paycheck Protection
Program and Health Care Enhancement Act, will restart the PPP, which ran out of
money last week. It also includes $75 billion for hospitals and $25
billion for COVID-19 testing. President Donald Trump has said he will sign the
bill.
Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., said on an early
Thursday afternoon webcast held by the American Council for Capital Formation
that the new PPP funds “will be available as early as tomorrow.”
The House, which convened in masks Thursday,
last met on Capitol Hill on March 27 during a legislative session to pass the
Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
The House’s first vote on Thursday was to
approve setting up a select subcommittee to oversee the administration’s
COVID-19 response, including how PPP funds are being spent. The subcommittee
will be part of the House Oversight and Reform Committee.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said
Wednesday that the Senate would wait at least until May 4 — when both the
Senate and House reconvene — to forge ahead on a new stimulus measure to
include additional funds for state and local governments.
“We’re going to push the pause button here,
because I think this whole business of additional assistance for state and
local governments needs to be thoroughly evaluated,” McConnell said on the
Hugh Hewitt show. “There’s not going to be any desire on the Republican side to
bail out state pensions by borrowing money from future generations.”
But Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer,
D-N.Y., said Thursday on MSNBC that McConnell’s remarks on letting states go
bankrupt “are so far out of mainstream he’s going to have to walk them back.
This is not an abstract concept. What he’s dealing with is the firing, the
furloughing, of police officers and firefighters; ambulance drivers and bus
drivers; people who keep our food safe.”
Melanie Waddel is Washington Bureau
Chief, Investment Advisory Group. She also covers regulatory and compliance
issues. Her column, The Playing Field, appears in Investment Advisor and
on ThinkAdvisor.com, and she also writes the briefing and produces the podcast,
Human Capital. Earlier in her career, Melanie covered financial issues at
American Banker/Thomson Media publications in Washington and New York. You can
reach her at mwaddell@alm.com. On twitter: @Think_MelanieW
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