Enhancements to Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program

The PPPHCE Act increases the funding for the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) by $310 billion from $349 billion to $659 billion, of which $60 billion is set-aside for certain insured depository institutions, credit unions and community financial institutions to provide greater access to the program for rural and underserved communities. The set-aside provisions reserve certain amounts for the Paycheck Protection Program, specifically:

• $30 billion for loans made by insured depository institutions and credit unions, which have assets between $10 billion and $50 billion; and
• $30 billion for loans made by community development financial institutions, minority depository institutions, SBIA development companies, and intermediaries (“Community Financial Institutions”) and small insured depository institutions and credit unions with assets of less than $10 billion.

The PPPHCE Act also increases funding for Economic Injury Disaster Loans (“EIDL”) by $50 billion and increases Emergency EIDL grants by $10 billion. Similar to the funding for PPP loans, the prior funding for the EIDL and emergency grants had been depleted and overwhelmed by demand.  

Of special interest to farmers, the Act amends the definition of “eligible entity” for EIDL grants to include agricultural enterprises with fewer than 500 employees.

Healthcare Provisions

The PPPHCE Act also provides an additional $75 billion to reimburse certain healthcare providers for healthcare-related expenses or lost revenues that are directly attributable to the coronavirus. (This supplements the $100 billion provided for in the CARES Act.) In addition, it provides $25 billion for expenses associated with COVID-19 testing, with portions thereof specifically dedicated to the following:

• $11 billion for states, localities, tribes, tribal organizations, urban Indian health organizations, or health service providers to tribes in accordance with various formulas (e.g. relative number of COVID-19 cases),
• $1 billion to the CDC and other research entities for surveillance, epidemiology, laboratory capacity expansion, contact tracing, public health data surveillance and analytics infrastructure modernization, disseminating information after testing, and workforce support necessary to expand and improve COVID-19 testing,
• $1.8 billion to the NIH for testing and associated technologies and to accelerate research and development of rapid testing processes,
• $1 billion to the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority for research, development, manufacture,  and production of diagnostic COVID-19 tests and supplies,
• $22 million to the FDA to support activities associated with diagnostic and other tests,
• $825 million for the Health Resources and Services Administration for primary healthcare, and
• up to $1 billion to cover the cost of testing for the uninsured.

Related articles:

CARES Act Resources

COVID-19 Resources