WASHINGTON, D.C. -- With small businesses across North Carolina clamoring for help, the U.S. Senate approved a deal Tuesday to add hundreds of billions of dollars to an emergency loan program.

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The U.S. House still has to vote on the nearly $500 billion aid package. A top Democrat told reporters to expect a vote Thursday.

The bill replenishes the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which provides forgivable loans to small businesses. It took less than two weeks for the original $350 billion Congress approved for the program to run out.

Under the Senate-backed bill, more than $300 billion will be added to the loan program. Roughly $60 billion of that will be set aside for smaller lenders and community banks, with the goal of ensuring that minority-owned and smaller businesses get a shot at the assistance.

Since its initial rollout, the PPP program has faced scrutiny, with reports of publicly traded companies getting assistance and banks prioritizing existing customers.

“Hopefully this money will really get into the hands of small businesses - not the big guys - but in the hands of the mom and pop operations, the sole proprietors, the nonprofit organizations that are community-based,” said Rep. GK Butterfield, D-1st District.

Republicans originally proposed a flat $250 billion expansion of the PPP loan program, hoping to pass it through Congress quickly. Democrats in the Senate blocked that plan.

Democrats advocated for a larger deal, wanting to tie funding for hospitals plus state and local governments to the PPP loan money. The final deal includes $75 billion for hospitals and $25 billion to boost testing, but not the aid for local and state governments.

In interviews, North Carolina GOP lawmakers argued that because of negotiations, small business owners were forced to endure an extra week of uncertainty.

“How many people are literally down to the last week of salaries that they can cover to pay, especially those who have tried to do the right thing and keep their employees?” said Rep. Mark Walker, R-6th District.

“I’m pleased with what we’re going to have - it’s only 10 days too late,” said Rep. Ted Budd, R-13th District. “We could have done this a long time ago.”

Asked about this, Butterfield argued the final deal was an improvement because of the inclusion of hospital funds and carve-outs for smaller lending institutions.

In statements, both North Carolina senators voiced support for the deal.

“It should have never taken this long. Speaker Pelosi and Minority Leader Schumer halted this program for a week in order to play partisan political games resulting in extra unnecessary hardship and uncertainty for small business owners across the state and country,” said Sen. Thom Tillis, R-NC. “This cannot happen again.”

“Americans expect Congress to not only provide relief in a time of need, but to work together to get it done. I’m proud the Senate has passed this bipartisan agreement as our nation continues to fight an unprecedented public health battle,” said Sen. Richard Burr, R-NC.

As of April 16, nearly 40,000 PPP loans totalling more than $8 billion overall have been approved for North Carolina businesses, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration. That was before the initial pot of money for the program ran dry.

So, will the additional money allocated for the loan program be enough?

The president of the National Federation for Independent Business, an organization that advocates for small businesses, said they were pushing for more.

“This could well be gone by middle-to-end of next week or even earlier, depending on how many applications go through quickly,” said Brad Close. “Congress will probably have to re-examine this in the future.”