NASBP Focal Point - July 22, 2020

Five state legislatures are currently in session: Connecticut, Federal, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania.

Territories: Guam and the Virgin Islands.

*Click here for a complete 2020 calendar of the state’s original legislative session dates.

In This Issue

Federal Report

NDAA
COVID Stimulus
NASBP’s Support of PPP Legislation

Federal Report:

NDAA, COVID Stimulus, and NASBP’s Support of PPP Legislation

NDAA

Congress returned to Washington this week, and a flurry of activity is expected. On Tuesday, the House passed its version of the $740.5 billion National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2021, H.R. 6395. Included in the House bill was an amendment offered by Representative Jared Golden (D-ME-2 ^nd), located in Section 832—Equitable Adjustments to Certain Construction Contracts, which is supported by the Construction Industry Procurement Coalition (CIPC) of which NASBP is a member. The provision amends the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 631) to allow small business prime and subcontractors to recover a portion of costs associated with change orders, specifically at least 50% of the cost of the proposed change. Several bipartisan measures
authored by Small Business Committee members were included in the final bill. The Senate is expected to vote this week on their version of the NDAA, S. 4049.

COVID Stimulus

Also on Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and White House Chief of Staff (CoS) Mark Meadows met with the Senate Republican conference to discuss the latest round of COVID recovery legislation. Later that day, Speaker Pelosi and Leader Schumer met with Secretary Mnuchin and CoS Meadows to discuss the parameters. According to the Secretary, the focus of the next relief phase will be “kids and jobs and vaccines.” Indications from the Leader’s office is that a Republican proposal may also include tax credits for business to help with reopening after the shutdown and funding for schools to assist with modifications in order to re-open classrooms in the fall. However, Senate Republicans and the White House are struggling to reach a consensus on the details concerning a COVID stimulus package, which jeopardizes enacting a stimulus package prior to the August recess. Meanwhile, after meeting with the administration, Leader Schumer and Speaker Pelosi voiced their concerns that discussions regarding a COVID stimulus relief package cannot occur until the Republicans release their draft bill.

House Small Business Committee – PPP

Last week, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Small Business Administrator Jovita Carranza testified before the House Small Business Committee on a hearing titled, “Oversight of the Small Business Administration and Department of Treasury Pandemic Programs,” regarding the latest numbers pertaining to loans created through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Thus far, five million loans have been approved, totaling over $500 billion. In addition, $170 billion in Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) have been delivered to over eight million small businesses. According to Secretary Mnuchin, “the next phase of relief should extend the PPP, but on a more targeted basis for smaller companies and those that are especially hard hit, such as restaurants, hotels, and other travel and hospitality business.” Mnuchin added that “27-percent of the PPP money has gone to low or moderate-income communities, but there was bipartisan agreement on Friday that minority and women-owned small businesses haven’t had equal access, mainly because they often lack a strong relationship with a bank.” During her opening statement, Committee Chair, Nydia Velazquez (D-NY-7 ^th) emphasized that “while we are grateful to SBA for providing data that I have been calling for since the start of PPP, it is no secret that there have been errors that are cause for concern. I am troubled by the Bloomberg news report that at least 226,000 loans were likely misreported by Congressional district—making it even harder for us to understand how businesses in our district fared in the program.”

NASBP Lends its Support

Organized by the Community Bankers Association, the PPP Forgiveness Coalition has spearheaded a senate bipartisan bill, S. 4117, “The Paycheck Protection Program Small Business Forgiveness Act,” which NASBP has signed on as a supporter. S. 4117 forgives PPP loans of less than $150,000 upon the borrower’s completion of a simple, one-page forgiveness document. Under S. 4117, lenders would continue to meet the PPP requirements provided by SBA for these loans, but the loan forgiveness process would be faster for these small businesses. NASBP also signed on to a support letter submitted on behalf of the Transportation Construction Coalition (TCC) to House and Senate Leadership urging “immediate infusion of at least $37 billion to state departments of transportation (DOTs) to ensure the delivery of planned transportation projects whose benefits will extend far beyond this pandemic and forestall further job losses in the public and private sectors.”

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Focal Point is an e-bulletin sent to members and friends of the
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