Congressman Steven Horsford Demands Increased Funding for Coronavirus Small Business Administration Loans

Washington, D.C. -- Following reports and constituent communications that the Small Business Administration loans authorized by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act had depleted, Congressman Steven Horsford (NV-04) sent a letter to Congressional leadership to demand more funding for these loans to protect Nevada's small businesses from coronavirus-related economic ruin.

"Although we have been able to provide relief to thousands of small businesses in Nevada, there are still many that have been unable to receive these funds. As of today, many small businesses will not even be able apply for loans. I have received phone calls, text messages, emails, and social media notifications from my constituents indicating that many more small businesses in my district are not able to submit loan applications because of the depletion of funds for the program," Congressman Horsford said. "This issue impacts more than just the small business owners in my district, it touches every small business throughout the country that has looked to the federal government for a lifeline during this unprecedented time in our nation's history."

In the letter, Congressman Horsford demanded an additional $250 billion for the SBA's forgivable Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) Program. He also requested $125 billion channeled through community-based financial institutions that serve women, minority and veteran-owned small businesses and nonprofits in rural, tribal, suburban and urban communities across our country, and improvements to ensure all eligible small businesses, including small businesses with 50 or fewer employees, can access this critical funding and are not turned away by banks.

Currently, the amount of forgiveness of a PPP loan depends on the borrower's payroll costs over an eight-week period. The Congressman also requests that the SBA provide flexibility to businesses granted loans to use the funds for a period beyond the eight-week period, and recognize that not all businesses or states will be able to open in a timely manner based on the ongoing public health crisis.

The CARES Act provided $349 billion for the creation of the PPP within SBA, which enables lenders to provide 100 percent SBA-backed loans to small businesses to cover payroll costs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the rollout of PPP on April 3, 2020, more than one million small businesses throughout the country have applied for and received this relief. That includes more than 4,000 small businesses in Nevada. However, Nevada is home to more than 270,000 small businesses, which employ approximately 487,000 Nevadans.

"It is essential that we support and protect the most vulnerable businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Without access to these important loans, many small businesses in Nevada and throughout the country will be forced to close their doors permanently," the Congressman wrote.

The full text of the letter can be read here.