EIDL problems hit small biz

      The Small Business Administration on June 15 “reopened” applications for all small businesses for the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, following a month and a half in which only agricultural entities were allowed to apply.

      The Web portal had closed on April 15 to all applications when funding ran out, and then resumed on May 4 with additional funds, but only agricultural businesses were allowed to apply.

      The limited access for six weeks, along with other administrative snafus with the EIDL program, have rankled the leaders of the House Small Business Committee and other lawmakers.

      “While we strongly believe farms and agriculture entities should have access to the EIDL program, we are concerned that SBA has not re-opened the portal to other small businesses and eligible entities,” Reps. Nydia Velazquez, D-NY, committee chair, and Steve Chabot, R-OH, senior Republican on the committee, along with 14 other lawmakers, wrote in a June 9 letter to SBA.

      Congress recently approved $50 billion to support $366 billion in new EIDL loans for small businesses hurt by the coronavirus pandemic.

      Velazquez and Chabot are raising alarms about EIDL implementation. The reported problems include:

• Congress authorized loans up to $2 million but the SBA reduced eligibility to $150,000 each;
• Applicants get only limited information on progress of their applications;
• SBA customer service hotlines have been inconsistent; and
• Data on processing times and on geographic distribution has not been available to Congress.

      SBA officials were not immediately available.

More information:
Congressional letter: https://bit.ly/2MYKfbG

(URLs in Set-Aside Alert have been shortened by the bit.ly URL shortener)

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