WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), a senior member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, joined a bicameral group of lawmakers to introduce the Small Business Debt Relief Extension Act. At the end of September, hundreds of thousands of businesses will reach the end of emergency debt relief for Small Business Administration (SBA)-backed loans. The bill would extend debt relief for small businesses through at least February 2021 for all borrowers and further for those particularly hard-hit by the pandemic. The legislation is led by U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-DE) and Ben Cardin (D-MD), and Congressman Antonio Delgado (NY-19).

The Small Business Debt Relief program has committed $8 billion in relief to some of America’s smallest, most at-risk employers during the recession. With no application required for businesses and minimal administrative burden, the program has delivered relief to 320,000 small businesses, especially in service industries hardest hit by the pandemic like hospitality and retail by providing six months of principal, interest, and fee payments on all preexisting, deferred, and new SBA loans, including 7(a) loans, 504 loans and microloans. Today, the lawmakers reiterated their calls to extend the program, at no new cost to the federal government, and introduced legislation to do just that.

“Small businesses across the country are struggling to keep their heads above water as the economic crisis from the pandemic bears down. The provisions we worked to include in the CARES Act have served as lifelines to many businesses fighting to make ends meet, but time is running out. Congress needs to act now,” said Senator Jeanne Shaheen. “This bill is a common-sense measure that will extend authorization of emergency debt relief for SBA-backed loans, including Paycheck Protection Program loans, to give small business owners a little extra breathing room. We worked on a bipartisan basis to craft this provision – and the other small business assistance programs in the CARES Act – and there is no reason why we shouldn’t be able to meet that same standard in this effort. Ultimately, Republicans need to meet us at the negotiating table so together we can deliver relief for small business owners and all those impacted by this crisis.”

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