WASHINGTON, D.C. - A program to shore up small businesses that are reeling from the effects of coronavirus is set to run out of money at the end of the week, after delivering more than $300 billion in forgivable loans from the federal government to pay employees during the crisis.

Although Republicans who control the U.S. Senate want Congress to immediately provide the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) with an extra $250 billion, Democrats who control the U.S. House of Representatives want any bill that buttresses the small business program to also provide money for other sectors walloped by the virus, such as hospitals and state and local governments.

Yet again, there’s a stalemate. Nothing is likely to happen until the virus abates enough for Congress to reconvene and negotiate a new stimulus package.

The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) was part of the $2.2 trillion coronavirus rescue bill that Congress passed before its members left Washington at the end of March. That bill, formally called the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, also provided cash payments to taxpayers and extended unemployment benefits, among many other things. It was the third package that Congress adopted to address effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The two prior efforts expanded emergency paid sick leave benefits for workers, bolstered state unemployment insurance programs, and provided extra money for programs like Medicaid, among other things.

As they work from home in Ohio, the state’s members of Congress from both political parties are coming up with their priorities for the next bill :

Rep. Dave Joyce, Bainbridge Township Republican:

Joyce would like to see more money for the Paycheck Protection Program so that more small businesses, including restaurants and retail, can get the economic relief they desperately need. As co-chair of the Congressional Nursing Caucus, he’d also like to see increased broadband resources to support telehealth and other critical online/virtual services, as well as additional funding and personal protective equipment for nurses and other medical professionals working on the front lines of the pandemic.

Read the full article here.