Press Releases

Yesterday, the United States Senate unanimously passed the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act, authored by Problem Solvers Caucus Member, Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN). The bill is now on its way to President Trump's desk, and if signed, will provide urgent reforms to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), a critical source of aid for small businesses during the Coronavirus epidemic. The bill, also led in the House by Problem Solver, Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), was endorsed by the Caucus last month and passed the House of Representatives last week by a margin of 417-1.

"Small businesses are the backbone of our communities and neighborhoods, providing jobs and critical services to millions of Americans," said Problem Solvers Caucus Co-Chairs, Reps. Tom Reed (R-NY) and Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ). "We are all fighting COVID-19 together, and this bipartisan legislation shows that both parties can come together to help the millions of small businesses across America that are struggling. We applaud Rep. Phillips and Rep. Upton for their leadership and urge the President to swiftly sign the bill into law."

The bipartisan Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act (H.R. 7010) was endorsed by a coalition of 55 organizations and will create more flexibility for small businesses by:

• Extending the expense forgiveness period from eight weeks to twenty-four weeks
• Reducing the 75 percent payroll ratio requirement
• Eliminating 2-year loan repayment restrictions for future borrowers
• Allowing payroll tax deferment for PPP recipients
• Extending the June 30 rehiring deadline

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The Problem Solvers Caucus is a bipartisan group in Congress comprised of 50 members – equally divided between Democrats and Republicans – who are committed to forging bipartisan cooperation on key issues. It is co-chaired by Congressman Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) and Congressman Tom Reed (R-NY).