On Friday, April 24th, President Trump signed a nearly $500 billion COVID-19 economic assistance package, which is the fourth and likely the last installment of Coronavirus aid packages. Since the $349 billion allocated for Small Business Administration’s loans was dried up last week, Congress realized the program needed another injection of cash. This new relief will give an additional $321 billion to the program, as well as another $60 billion for economic disaster loans for small businesses. Experts are not so sure how long this will keep businesses afloat, since only about 20% of current applicants to SBA loans have reported receiving funds so far. Last week almost 1.7 million small businesses received aid, and there are a total of 6 million employers that are potentially eligible for these loans.
Democrats were able to secure another $75 billion for hospitals and other health care providers, which lands on top of their previous $100 billion in last month’s bill. In addition, $25 billion was allocated for expanding COVID-19 testing, which includes covering tests for those without health insurance.
The Senate approved the bill Tuesday by voice vote, with the House following Thursday by a lopsided 388-5 vote.