President Trump signed the Paycheck Protection Program finding package into law this afternoon, and dollars will soon resume flowing to our small businesses and front line health care workers.
Here are some statistics on where the first tranche of PPP money is going:
PPP has provided forgivable loans to 1.6 million small businesses, nonprofits, veterans’ organizations, tribal businesses, sole proprietors, and independent contractors in all 50 states.
Seventy-four percent of the loans processed and funded with the original allocation of $350 billion were for businesses with a payroll of $150,000 or less and approximately 70% of the loans have been going to businesses with a payroll of $60,000 or less. These are great numbers to see because it shows that the very small businesses are receiving funding.
Approximately 80% of the loans have been approved by local community banks. No lender has accounted for more than 5% of the total dollar amount of the program.
The CARES 2.0 package approved last night includes an additional $310 billion for PPP, bringing the total for the program to $670 billion. The bill sets aside $60 billion of the $310 billion to be made by the following institutions:
$30 billion for loans made by our smallest financial institutions with assets of $10 billion or less, e.g., community banks, small insured depository institutions, and credit unions.
$30 billion for loans made by insured depository institutions and credit unions that have assets between $10 billion and $50 billion.
Governor Cooper announced yesterday that North Carolina's statewide stay-at-home order has been extended to May 8th. The orders extending closure of restaurants for dine-in service and bars and closure of other close-contact businesses are also extended through May 8th. Gatherings of 10 or more are prohibited, and everyone should continue to remain 6 feet apart while grocery shopping or participating in other essential activities.
Governor Cooper also announced that schools would be closed for the remainder of the academic year.
The State Board of Education yesterday approved a series of measures addressing student grading for the remainder of the school year, incomplete teacher evaluations and $380 million in additional emergency funding from the state. Under a temporary grading policy approved by the Board, elementary and middle school students will not receive traditional grades for the year, and high school students in grades 9-11 will have the option of choosing between a grade of pass/no credit or a numeric grade for their spring semester courses this year. More information here.
I want to clear up some misinformation our team has heard floating around out there. Earlier this week President Trump announced the suspension of immigration for certain categories of individuals seeking to come to the U.S. This order, though, does not apply to H-2A temporary agricultural workers. For more information about the order, visit the White House website here.
For today's good news stories, I'm highlighting just a few of the many stories that readers of this newsletter have sent in. Like Marcia Mallett of Wilmington, who has been making and donating face masks for health care workers. Or the Oceanridge Plantation Merry Mask Makers, who are donating their time and energy to making masks for others. Or even the anonymous mystery artist who draws pictures with sidewalk chalk to lift up the staff at Novant Brunswick Medical Center. People from across the 7th District are pitching in to help out in this time of crisis.
