As lawmakers continue working to finalize additional funding for the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program, a group of eight Republican senators wrote to SBA Administrator Jovita Carranza urging SBA to allow loan applications completed as of April 16—when the initial round of funding ran out—to be entered into the E-Tran system. Once program funds were exhausted, SBA announced that it would no longer accept PPP loan applications.
“By providing access to the E-Tran system, lenders will be allowed to submit the backlog of applications they have already received,” the senators wrote. “It will also protect businesses that previously applied from being leap-frogged by new applicants should the program reopen.”
The lawmakers also urged SBA to continue building up its online platforms and technical capacity to meet the unprecedented demand from borrowers. “We are concerned that the E-Tran system will be overwhelmed, if the SBA does not allow submissions before the program reopens,” they added. “Keeping the system operational will mitigate the influx once the program receives more funding.”
