The House and Senate passed legislation extending the Payroll Protection Program (PPP), the small business aid program that was set to cease lending on July 1, 2020. This will allow banks to continue issuing the government-backed small business loans through August 8, 2020.

The extension was introduced by Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD), was passed by unanimous consent in the Senate earlier in the week, and passed by the House on Thursday, July 1.

The federal government created the PPP as a way to help small businesses who were impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. In the past few months Congress has made updates to the legislation to better meet the needs of small businesses. In addition to passing the Payroll Protection Program Flexibility Act, Congress  added an additional $310 billion to the existing $340 billion included in the CARES Act, when the initial funds ran out.

As of June 30, there was still $134 billion left in the fund. Extending the program will allow small businesses who have not applied for PPP loans additional time to do so.

Congress is set to work on the next coronavirus legislative package at the end of July. The Brewers Association is lobbying for inclusion for many issues that they see as being beneficial to breweries across the country, like the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act (CBMTRA) language making the current federal excise tax rates permanent; allowing 501(c)6s to have access to PPP loans; and providing breweries and other hospitality related businesses that have seen major revenue losses access to grants to use for a wider variety of business costs.