Neguse, Curtis Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Ensure Full Forgiveness for EIDL Advances

29th September, 2020 by VCBA

Washington, D.C.— Congressman Joe Neguse (D-CO) and Congressman John Curtis (R-UT) introduced the EIDL Forgiveness Act, bipartisan legislation that would exclude the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) Advance when determining loan forgiveness for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The legislation would ensure that those business owners who received PPP funds will not have their loan forgiveness reduced by their EIDL Advance. 

“Small businesses are the backbone of Colorado’s economy, and for many of them, PPP loans and EIDL Advances have been their only lifelines,” said Congressman Neguse. “The bipartisan EIDL Forgiveness Act provides some relief to struggling small businesses when they need it most by helping them save thousands of dollars, allowing them to focus their limited resources on keeping their employees on the payrolls and their doors open.”

“The COVID-19 pandemic continues to disrupt the lives of hard-working Utahns across the state,” said Curtis. “This is especially the case for the countless small businesses that are the foundation of Utah’s economy. The Economic Injury Disaster Loan Forgiveness Act is a perfect example of how we can find pragmatic, bipartisan solutions to help small businesses across the country overcome the current set of circumstances and continue serving their communities without further interruption.”

“Having my EIDL advance forgiven would be amazing!  My wife and son and I have been working day and night to keep our family run business alive,” said Gerald Trainor, owner of Two Hands Paperie in Boulder, Colorado.  “If this bill passes, it would pay for 2 months of our rent and help us save the business we have worked so hard to grow.”

“MenuTrinfo is a women-owned business that has been hit hard by the coronavirus shutdowns,” said Betsy Craig, owner of MenuTrinfo in Fort Collins. “We were grateful to receive a $7,000 EIDL advance, which we thought was a gift from the government to help us stay alive. To turn around and realize that we owed that money back because we got a PPP loan was a real punch in the gut. Every little bit matters right now.” 

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act established an emergency grant program, the EIDL Advance, which provided eligible businesses with $1,000 per employee up to a maximum of $10,000 to be used to keep employees on the payroll and other business expenses. If a small business received an EIDL Advance and a PPP loan, the Small Business Administration (SBA) deducts the PPP loan forgiveness amount by the amount of the EIDL Advance. The EIDL Forgiveness Act ensures that the amount of PPP loan forgiveness a small business receives shall be determined without regard to any amount the small business received under the EIDL Advance.

To date, all available funds for the EIDL Advance have been allocated. As of July 15, 2020, 5,781,390 EIDL Advances were disbursed for a total of $20,000,000,000. For Colorado small businesses, a total of 87,334 EIDL Advances were disbursed for a total of $267,687,000.

CONTACT: Lisa Bianco

Lisa.Bianco@mail.house.gov

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