04.08.20

Durbin to SBA & Treasury: Prioritize Financial Needs of Small Businesses in Underserved & Rural Communities

SPRINGFIELD – U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today urged the Small Business Administration (SBA) and U.S. Department of Treasury to prioritize the financial needs of small businesses in underserved and rural markets when processing and disbursing loans under the Paycheck Protection Program.  In a letter to SBA Administrator Jovita Carranza and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Durbin asked the agencies to quickly issue guidance to lenders and agents that clearly outlines how lenders can best serve small businesses in rural and underserved communities, especially as the application process for the Paycheck Protection Program is underway.  The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act created the Paycheck Protection Program to provide immediate and much-needed financial assistance to our nation’s small businesses.

“Within the CARES Act, Congress expressed its intent that lenders and agents participating in the SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program prioritize the financial needs of small businesses in underserved and rural markets when processing and disbursing loans,” Durbin wrote. “It is critical that lenders and agents receive clear and expeditious guidance to ensure that farmers, women, minority and veteran-owned small businesses and nonprofits in rural and underserved communities are not left behind.”

Full text of the letter is available here and below:

April 8, 2020

Dear Administrator Carranza and Secretary Mnuchin:

I write to request your immediate attention to the implementation of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, known as the CARES Act (Public Law 116-136), signed into law on March 27, 2020.  The CARES Act provided $377 billion in immediate financial assistance to our nation’s small businesses grappling with continued economic challenges as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.  Specifically, the CARES Act created the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) under the SBA’s 7(a) loan program to provide immediate and much-needed cash-flow assistance through 100 percent federally guaranteed loans to eligible employers who retain their employees.

Within the CARES Act, Congress expressed its intent that lenders and agents participating in the SBA’s PPP prioritize the financial needs of small businesses in underserved and rural markets when processing and disbursing loans.  I urge you to quickly issue guidance to lenders and agents that clearly outlines how lenders can best serve small businesses in rural and underserved communities, including agricultural operations and farms where wages are not paid in the conventional sense.  It is critical that lenders and agents receive clear and expeditious guidance to ensure that farmers, women, minority and veteran-owned small businesses and nonprofits in rural and underserved communities are not left behind. 

I appreciate your immediate attention and your continued engagement in supporting our nation’s most vulnerable small businesses. 

Sincerely,

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