CUNA joined several organizations this week calling on leadership of the House and Senate Small Business Committees to support a bill to simplify forgiveness of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans under $150,000. Sens. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) introduced the PPP Forgiveness Act June 30.

“PPP loans of $150,000 and under account for 85% of total PPP recipients, but less than 26% of PPP loan dollars,” the joint letter reads. “Expediting the loan forgiveness process for many of these hard-hit businesses will save more than $7 billion and hours of paperwork…Small businesses and their employees are the backbone of our nation’s economy and communities. Their time and resources would be better focused on getting the economy safely back up and running, not processing burdensome paperwork.”

Highlights of the bill include:

• Forgiveness for covered PPP loans of less than $150,000, if the borrower submits a simple, one-page attestation form to the lender;
• The lender shall be held harmless from any enforcement action if the borrower’s attestation contained any falsehoods; and
• The borrower attestation will include a means by which a borrower, on a voluntary basis, will provide the following demographic information: sex; race; ethnicity; and veteran status of owner.  

CUNA President/CEO Jim Nussle wrote the bill’s sponsors in support last week.