BY BETH DEDMAN
Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney and representatives from the Small Business Administration held a Q&A panel to answer questions about the Paycheck Protection Program, applying for loans for small businesses and potential funding for needs around the city.
Maloney is pushing for the Pandemic Reinsurance Act to set precedents for how to handle such far-reaching shutdowns like the one caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. In future pandemics, businesses should not have to scramble for funding like they have had to with this crisis, Maloney said.
“We have to plan something to consider for the future,” Maloney said.
The Paycheck Protection Program is a 1% interest loan for a two-year term with a six month deferment period for small businesses. If businesses use 75% of the loan to pay their employees, the loans are treated more like a grant that does not need to be repaid, Maloney said.
Business-owners can calculate their loan amounts by accounting for salary, wages, commissions they gained per month based on employment records. That number is multiplied by 2.5 and totals the amount the business should receive from their lender.
Lenders are available through the Small Business Administration, but applications should be sent directly to the lender, not to the SBA.
Councilwoman Carolyn Rivera thinks that small businesses are going to be the key to economic recovery from the crisis.
“Political will to do the right thing and put the money directly in your pockets is our biggest issue,” Rivera said.
More information about the SBA is available at https://www.sba.gov/.
