On April 16th, Barry Melancon, President of the AICPA, issued a request to congress for additional funding for small businesses through the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Payroll Protection Program (PPP).
“The need for quick and decisive action by Congress is clear,” the AICPA release says. “Small businesses are the nation’s economic engine, and supporting and stabilizing them is essential to our economic recovery.”
“This program was rolled out with remarkable speed, and while there have been some bumps along the way, small businesses view the Paycheck Protection Program as a critical lifeline,” said AICPA President and CEO Barry Melancon, CPA, CGMA, in the Institute’s news release. “We need to extend that support so we can protect workers and ensure our economy can rebound quickly once restrictions are lifted.”
The SBA has approved more than 1.6 million loans submitted by nearly 5,000 lenders. That has accounted for more than 14 years’ worth of loans in less than 14 days, according to a joint statement issued Wednesday night by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and SBA Administrator Jovita Carranza. Mnuchin and Carranza also urged Congress to approve $250 billion in additional funding.
“We urge Congress to appropriate additional funds for the Paycheck Protection Program — a critical and overwhelmingly bipartisan program — at which point we will once again be able to process loan applications, issue loan numbers, and protect millions more paychecks,” the joint statement said.
The U.S. economy has lost 22 million jobs over the past four weeks, according to unemployment benefits claim data released Thursday (April 16, 2020) by the U.S. Department of Labor.
Source: --- Journal of Accountancy, Jeff Drew