Congress Acts on New Funds for PPP and SBA Loans
Congress and the White House have just passed an "interim" COVID-19 relief bill. The deal adds funding to the existing Paycheck Protection Program administered by local lenders and the Economic Injury Disaster Relief program administered by the Small Business Administration, and provides additional resources for COVID-19 testing and hospitals. Congress is expected to take up a separate package of new and expanded COVID-19 relief measures in the weeks to come, and ongoing advocacy will be essential. Please stay tuned for an important Action Alert next week.
Here is a quick overview of the Paycheck Protection and Health Care Enhancement Act:
- Paycheck Protection Program:
$310 billion in new funding (with $60 billion of that amount set aside to be administered by smaller lending institutions like credit unions and community financial institutions).
- SBA Economic Injury Disaster Relief:
$50 billion in new funding for the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) Program
$10 billion in new funding for the EIDL Grants
While there is not a clear answer as to how soon lenders will be able to administer the new funds, policy leaders say the resources will be "rapidly" available to lenders.
Please check back for more information about these and additional forms of relief.
NEA Awards CARES Act Funding to States
As of last week, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) announced it awarded almost $30 million to the nation's 50 states, the District of Columbia and several territories including Puerto Rico, for re-granting in order to preserve jobs and facilities costs. The agency is mandated by Congress to allocate 40 percent of its funding, including the $75 million CARES Act allocation, to state and territorial arts agencies and regional arts organizations for their funding programs. Less than three weeks after the CARES Act was signed into law, the NEA has worked rapidly to deliver this 40 percent to states and is now accepting and evaluating applications for direct grants to arts organizations.
Each state, territorial, and regional arts agency is developing its own process for awarding CARES Act funds, so prospective applicants should visit the states and regionals page on the Arts Endowment's website for more information.
Please continue to make the case for theatres and theatre artists to your Members of Congress utilizing TCG's advocacy campaign. We encourage you to tell your story and to use the talking points from this policy statement issued by the Cultural Advocacy Group.