President Trump signed the latest coronavirus economic relief aid package today. In it, additional aid will go to small businesses.

The measure passed by the Senate’s unanimous consent on Tuesday and by a 388-5 vote in the House on Thursday.

Details of the Aid Package 

Of the $484 billion package, $321 billion is rationed to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), a lending program to help small businesses endure the crisis with forgivable loans. PPP ran out of its initial $350 billion in only two weeks, and it is likely that even after another wave of assistance, the program will need additional funding.

Though lawmakers worked as quickly as they could to roll out another aid package, Republicans and Democrats faced disagreement in the process. Republicans wanted to provide swift aid with an initial amount for PPP set at $250 billion, but Democrats secured an additional $60 million to PPP for smaller banks to assist businesses, many of those businesses minority-owned, that struggled to borrow from bigger lenders.

Another $100 billion of the aid package will go to hospitals and more testing.

In the aid package, additional resources for state and local governments were excluded, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said there would not be another bill that didn’t include state and local government assistance.

What’s to Come

This is the fourth measure approved by Congress since March 1 in response to COVID-19 and the economic fallout due to the coronavirus. Though most of the measures have passed with mostly bipartisan support, the next measure might be a return to more partisan lines.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell insisted on a “pause” before Congress pursues additional legislation.

Some of the measures up for debate in future legislation are: funding for state and local governments to make up for budget shortfalls, additional cash payments to American workers and families, extended unemployment benefits, aid for the U.S. Postal Service and first responders, and new infrastructure spending.

For Information About PPP Application Process:

https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/loans/coronavirus-relief-options/paycheck-protection-program