The small business loan program's second round of funding is expected to run out in 72 hours or less

(Image credit: JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP via Getty Images)

published 27 April 2020

The next phase of the federal government loan program known as the Paycheck Protection Program, created to help out small businesses hit by the coronavirus pandemic, launches on Monday, and analysts expect the $310 billion in funds to evaporate even more quickly than the first round, The Washington Post reports.

"Once the application portal reopens, there will be an immediate flood of tens of thousands of applicants. Maybe millions," said Juleanna Glover, a Washington, D.C.-based corporate public affairs adviser tracking the program. "I'd be surprised if this next tranche lasts even 72 hours."

The Trump administration says it's committed to making sure small businesses continue getting the resources they need to weather the pandemic, and there will likely be more money on the way, but some lawmakers, like Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) who has been pushing for a more expansive program for a while, think the PPP may have run its course. "Josh believes we have reached the limitations of the PPP," Hawley's chief of staff, Kyle Plotkin, told Politico, describing the program has "a temporary lifeline." Now, he said, it's time to "think about recovery" and "do something that addresses the severity of the crisis." Read more at The Washington Post and Politico.

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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.

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