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Senate Passes Legislation For Increased PPP Flexibility

The bill now heads to the White House for approval.

Senate Passes Legislation For Increased PPP Flexibility
AP / J. Scott Applewhite
SMS

The Senate passed legislation on Wednesday to give thousands of small businesses more flexibiilty with Paycheck Protection Program requirements, such as loan repayment and spending restrictions.

Under the new rules, businesses wouldn't be obligated to spend as much of their federal loans on payroll and would have 16 more weeks to use the funds.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said prior to the vote: "We must get this done. Businesses are going under every day."

The program, which was created in March, has distributed $550 billion to small businesses across the country. There's about $120 billion in approved funding left.

The measure was passed by voice, which requires unanimous approval. Initially, a Republican senator objected, blocking the vote. But after negotiations promised a clarification of the authorization period, that senator agreed to pass the legislation.

The bill had already been overwhelmingly passed by the House and now heads to President Donald Trump's desk.