Congress Passes PPP Critical Improvements

Today, Congress passed a bill that aims to address concerns over the structure of the federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The program has been a bittersweet solution for cideries who have had to consider laying off staff due to state-mandated tasting room closures. Yes, it provided needed funds to pay employees. But the restrictions on using those funds without repayment didn’t quite make sense in our pandemic world. Here is how the reform bill headed to the President’s desk changes the program:

• The original PPP program required the loan funds to be spent within 8 weeks of receiving them. Today Congress expanded that period to 24 weeks.
• The original PPP program required that 75% of the funds be used for payroll. Today Congress reduced that requirement to 60%.

We thank our members for letting us know the challenges you faced with the PPP program. We’ve been able to share that feedback with congressional offices who in turn utilized your stories and others to fix the program.

Read more: Senate approves House-passed Paycheck Protection Program reform bill