CUNA issued an action alert Monday calling on credit union stakeholders to support House and Senate bills that would simplify Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan forgiveness. The Senate bill (S. 4117) was introduced June 30 and the House bill (H.R. 7777) was introduced late last week.

The bills would allow small businesses that have received PPP loans of $150,000 and less to have their loans forgiven.

“This legislation will help small business owners remain focused on their communities and employees, rather than burdensome regulatory hurdles,” said CUNA Chief Advocacy Officer Ryan Donovan. “The more that credit unions can do to keep Main Street businesses resilient amid this pandemic, the stronger our economic recovery will be.”

The action alert directs stakeholders to CUNA’s Grassroots Action Center, where they can reach out to their Representatives and Senators calling for them to support the legislation.

According to the Small Business Administration, 3.7 million PPP loans were $150,000 or less. Approximately 94% of credit union PPP loans were under that amount, with the average loan extended being for less than $50,000.

Credit union advocates can use this link to take action, and have the option of sharing the pre-drafted response or adding accounts of their credit union's PPP efforts.