WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Retail Federation (NRF) has praised the $300 billion legislation the U.S. Senate passed to financially aid small businesses that are struggling during the COVID-19 crisis. The Small Business Administration (SBA) ran out of its originally allotted $376 billion Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) fund, which had 200,000 small businesses partaking in the program. The PPP is a product of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Securities Act (CARES Act), which was signed into law March 27.
“Retailers continue to deal with catastrophic hardships from COVID-19, and small retailers are the hardest hit,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “The CARES Act was an important first step, but funding for the PPP has already been exhausted and additional relief is essential to keeping employees of small retailers on the payroll and contributing to the economy until we can get through this challenge.”
The total allotment of the new legislation is $484 billion, with additional funding going to hospitals and COVID-19 testing.
The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote on the bill Thursday.
Washington, D.C.-based NRF has advocated for retailers and policies for more than 100 years.