Smaller businesses, including those with just a single self-employed worker, will be able to apply for loans from the Paycheck Protection Program for the next two weeks, the White House announced on Monday.
Starting on Wednesday, small businesses with fewer than 20 employees will have 14 days to apply for aid to help with the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. The Biden Administration will earmark about $1 billion for sole proprietors, independent contractors, and self-employed people, among others.
“The Small Business Administration will also remove barriers that have stopped many businesses from being able to apply for these loans,” President Joe Biden said on Monday, according to the New York Post. “For example, we’re making it so that a student loan default or a non-fraud-related criminal record does not prohibit someone from applying for the program.”
White House press secretary Jen Psaki noted that these changes will allow non-permanent legal residents, such as immigrants with green cards, to “receive more support” than before.
“The changes announced today will roll back restrictions that disproportionately impacted entrepreneurs of color from receiving relief, including Americans who are behind on student loan payments and business owners who were formerly incarcerated for non-fraud convictions,” Psaki said.
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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