SCHUMER: HUDSON VALLEY BUSINESSES NEED ACCESS TO CRITICAL FED RELIEF TO RECOVER ASAP; SURROUNDED BY HUDSON VALLEY BUSINESS OWNERS, SENATOR PUSHES TO EXTEND “PPP” PROGRAM TO GIVE LOCAL SMALL BIZ OWNERS ANOTHER LOAN & CONTINUED ASSISTANCE; HUDSON VALLEY’S ECONOMIC RECOVERY IS CRITICAL FOR ALL OF NY
Window For Accessing A PPP Loan For Hudson Valley Small Biz’s Will Close In Weeks
Schumer Pushes Vital Legislation To Provide Economic Relief To Hudson Valley’s Small Businesses, Extending Program To 2021 & Offering New Second Round of PPP Assistance To Hardest-Hit Small Businesses
Schumer: PPP Extension & Expansion Is The Lifeboat Hudson Valley Small Biz Needs To Recover & Rebuild From Health -and Economic- Pandemic
Standing in Wurtsboro, New York, in front of Canal Towne Emporium, a fixture in Sullivan County since 1840, on the heels of a successfully securing an extension of for the original Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) just last week, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer, flanked by business owners from Sullivan, Orange, and Ulster Counties, unveiled the Prioritized Paycheck Protection Program Act, or ‘P4’, which seeks to provide additional relief for the Hudson Valley’s small businesses that have been severely impacted by the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Schumer explained that his proposed legislation would provide much-needed relief to Hudson Valley business owners by extending the PPP loan period to the end of the year and adding additional eligibility opportunities for business owners who may need a second round of assistance to survive. Specifically, ‘P4’ second loans will allow for businesses to access funds worth 250 percent of monthly payroll costs, up to a maximum of $2 million. Small businesses with fewer than 100 employees, self-employed borrowers, and rural and historically underserved communities will be eligible for this second round of assistance, in an effort to get critical federal aid to the most in-need businesses that have lost 50% or more of revenues due to the pandemic. Schumer said that the next stimulus package must target assistance to hard-hit Hudson Valley businesses with fewer than 100 employees like the Canal Towne Emporium in Wurtsboro, self-employed borrowers, and those in historically underserved communities like Liberty Street Bistro in the City of Newburgh. Citing data from the New York State Department of Labor, Schumer further explained that the private sector job count in the Hudson Valley fell by 165,400, or 20.1 percent, to 656,400 during the 12-month period ending in May 2020.
”The PPP has been a lifeline for Hudson Valley small businesses struggling to stay afloat during these turbulent times, and last week, I fought to ensure that the program would continue to support our hard-working New Yorkers for at least another month,” said Senator Schumer. “However, as New York seeks to recover from the crisis, we need to do even more for businesses hardest-hit by the pandemic. This legislation will bring much-needed changes to the existing PPP program to make loans more accessible to the small businesses and nonprofits in the Hudson Valley that are struggling the most and make a second round of relief possible for businesses that need the extra support.”
The senator said that his ‘P4’ legislation will reserve 20% of PPP funds for employers with 10 or fewer employees and ensure priority processing for such businesses, in conjunction with priority processing for underserved and rural borrowers across the Hudson Valley, including veterans. To further make sure that the funding is reserved for the hardest-hit small businesses, the ‘P4’ loan will not be available to publicly traded companies.
Schumer noted that Hudson Valley labors statistics show that the private sector job count has reached its lowest May level since 1995 with only 656,400 private sector jobs. He explained that the pandemic has been particularly crushing to the hospitality and leisure sector here in the Hudson Valley with 58,700 jobs eliminated. Losses also occurred in trade, transportation and utilities (-34,200), educational and health services (-18,400), professional and business services (-16,900), other services (-16,400), natural resources, mining and construction (-12,300), manufacturing (-6,700), financial activities (-1,100), and information (-700). Schumer explained that this data points to a critical need for federal support to revive the region’s economy, including aid to help small businesses weather the crisis and to put them on a road to recovery as the lynchpins of our communities.
Schumer was joined by leading Hudson Valley stakeholders who share these sentiments and recognize the importance of this critical legislation for PPP reform that targets hurting businesses.
“From the earliest days of this pandemic, Senator Schumer has been fierce advocate for struggling Hudson Valley small businesses and we support his push to extend the PPP until the end of the year and allow our smallest, most impacted, businesses to apply for a second loan,” said Mike Oates, President and CEO of the Hudson Valley Economic Development Corporation. “Despite its hiccups, which Senator Schumer has also worked with us to address, the PPP has been game changing for many of our hardest-hit, truly small businesses here in the Hudson Valley that had nowhere else to turn for the financial assistance needed to survive the pandemic. This legislation will help to unlock more assistance that may be otherwise unavailable for our smallest businesses as we jump start the economy.”
“The PPP has been a lifeline for countless small businesses here in Sullivan County given the devastating economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic in the Hudson Valley and Catskills Region. At Sullivan Catskills, we have been working around the clock to help our small businesses move through New York’s reopening phases as they continue navigating unprecedented financial challenges resulting from coronavirus-related closures and restrictions,” said Roberta Byron-Lockwood, President and CEO, Sullivan Catskills Visitors Association. “The picturesque scenery and vast open space has made the Sullivan Catskills a travel destination for centuries and our small businesses have long benefited from these visitors flocking to our Main Streets. We thank Senator Schumer for making it clear that the federal government needs to step in and provide additional support for our hurting businesses who may need a second PPP loan to keep their doors open and employees on the job and for fighting to make sure that those who haven’t been able to access the PPP have the time needed to apply.”
The Senator was also joined by Gary and Lyman Holmes, Owners of Canal Towne Emporium in Sullivan County, Mike Kelly, Owner of Liberty Street Bistro and Newburgh Flour Shop in Orange County and Rick Alfandre, Owner of Alfandre Architecture in Ulster County. These small businesses shared their first-hand experiences with the Paycheck Protection Program with Senator Schumer and joined him in his push for additional aid for hurting Hudson Valley businesses.
Details on the Prioritized Paycheck Protection Program Act, or ‘P4’, appear below. ‘P4’ loans:
- May be as large as 2.5-times monthly payroll costs, just as under initial PPP loans, but may not be any larger than $2 million. (Affiliated businesses with separate locations may pursue separate P4 loans, but in aggregate the loans may not exceed $2 million.)
- Allow borrowers to apply for forgiveness as early as eight weeks after the loan is disbursed and they have fulfilled payroll requirements, rather than make them opt-in to 8 weeks or wait until the earlier of 24 weeks or December 31, which needlessly increases the cost of the loan as interest accrues, tying up money that could be deployed for paychecks.
- Are not available to publicly traded companies.
- Except as otherwise mentioned, are subject to the same terms, conditions, and forgiveness criteria as initial PPP loans.
- Provide lenders a minimum processing fee of $2,500 per P4 loan to ensure lenders do not lose money by processing small-dollar loans or cherry pick larger loans.
To increase access to PPP (initial and P4) assistance to underserved businesses, the bill reserves the lesser of $25 billion or 20% of PPP funds for employers with 10 or fewer employees, along with priority processing for such firms, harmonized with priority processing for underserved and rural borrowers. The bill also requires SBA within five days to issue guidance, as required by the CARES Act, which instructs lenders to give priority in loan processing and disbursement to underserved and rural borrowers, including veterans. It also requires SBA to update the PPP loan application to collect demographic information on PPP recipients.
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