President Trump Signs the $484 Billion Relief Bill

Marty McCarthy, CPA, CCIFP
Focused on You. Dedicated to Your Success.
April 24, 2020

Washington – The Associated Press reported that President Trump signed a $484 billion bill today to aid employers and hospitals under stress from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The bill is the latest effort by the federal government to help keep afloat businesses that have had to close or dramatically alter their operations as states try to slow the spread of the virus. Over the past five weeks, roughly 26 million people have filed for jobless aid, or about one in six U.S. workers.

Anchoring the bill is the Trump administration's $250 billion request to replenish a fund to help small- and medium-size businesses with payroll, rent and other expenses. This program provides forgivable loans so businesses can continue paying workers while forced to stay closed for social distancing and stay-at-home orders.

The legislation contains $100 billion demanded by Democrats for hospitals and a nationwide testing program, along with $60 billion for small banks and an alternative network of community development banks that focus on development in urban neighborhoods and rural areas ignored by many lenders. There's also $60 billion for small-business loans and grants delivered through the Small Business Administration's existing disaster aid program.

Passage of more coronavirus relief is likely in the weeks ahead. Supporters are already warning that the business-backed Payroll Protection Program will exhaust the new $250 billion almost immediately. Launched just weeks ago, the program quickly reached its lending limit after approving nearly 1.7 million loans.

Univest Financial Corp. CEO Jeff Schweitzer has this advice for those hoping to receive funding from the second Paycheck Protection Program round. “JPMorgan said they have something like $20 billion waiting to be funded,” Schweitzer said. “If you don’t have an application in now, I don’t see how you will get funded. I just hope for their sake that there is a Round 3.” The first round of funding was exhausted in 13 days.

Schweitzer expects the money to be exhausted as fast as in two days, depending on how the SBA’s E-Tran system can handle the initial volume. The $320 billion second round of PPP will open Monday.

The four coronavirus relief bills approved so far by Congress would deliver at least $2.4 trillion for business relief, testing and treatment, and direct payments to individuals and the unemployed, according to the Congressional Budget Office. The deficit is virtually certain to breach $3 trillion this year.

Among the candidates for aid in the next bill is the Postal Service, which has more than 600,000 workers but is getting clobbered by COVID-19-related revenue losses.

We will share more details as they become available. Please visit our COVID-19 Resource Page for more updates.

Feel free to contact any member of our team at (610) 828-1900 (PA) or (732) 341-3893 (NJ) with questions. Rich Higgins, CPA, managing principal – New Jersey office can be contacted at Richard.Higgins@MCC-CPAs.com . I can be reached at Marty.McCarthy@MCC-CPAs.com . As always, we are happy to help.

Stay safe,

Marty McCarthy, CPA, CCIFP
Managing Partner
McCarthy & Company

Disclaimer: This alert is for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Information contained in this communication is not intended or written to be used as tax advice, and cannot be used by the recipient to avoid penalties that may be imposed under the Internal Revenue Code. We strongly advise you to seek professional assistance with respect to your specific issue(s).