WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Paula Brown says she is running out of options.

She owns Cocoa’s Authentic Jamaican Jerk in Charlotte, plus a newly opened sister restaurant in Concord, and says the coronavirus is taking its toll.

“We are in a desperate situation at this point,” Brown said Thursday.

Like some other small business owners, she says she is running into difficulty getting federal assistance through a new small business loan program.

This week she applied for one of the loans, which is part of the newly rolled out Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The $350 billion program is part of the $2.2 trillion aid package approved by Congress and signed into law by the president late last month.

The program first launched last Friday, but Brown said her bank did not start accepting applications until this week because they needed additional clarification from the federal government on how the loans work. Once she applied, she said, her bank told her that because of the new nature of the loan program, it is unclear when she may see any money.

“We were very excited that help was out there and that it was coming for us. Now I’m like a deflated balloon,” she said. “We have no idea when we’re going to get help. I don’t know how we’re going to keep our employees after this week.”

Brown is not alone.

"There is a tremendous amount of confusion and frustration out there," said Gregg Thompson, the state director of the National Federation of Independent Business for North Carolina.

Thompson said business owners are hitting roadblocks getting banks to accept their applications if they are not a customer at the institution. NFIB also does not know of any businesses in North Carolina that have received PPP money yet, he said.

Since the PPP launched, banks across the country have been inundated with small business owners trying to apply for assistance. As of Wednesday, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) said they had guaranteed roughly $100 billion so far in loans nationally.

However, the roll out of the PPP program has come with stumbling blocks, with reports of banks clamoring for additional federal guidance, technical issues with an SBA electronic system, and hurdles for applicants.

Asked about these issues, the head of the SBA said the money is coming. “It’s about patience,” said Jovita Carranza, the SBA Administrator.

“This is an unprecedented, unchartered, unexperienced situation,” she said. “We’re working around the clock to make sure that not only are the funds guaranteed and the banks are positioned to interact very expeditiously, very seamlessly with SBA, but we’re all committed to providing funds.”

In an interview, Rep. Richard Hudson, R-8th District, said he thought the program was going “very well.”

“Obviously when you roll out a brand new federal program, you have snags and things you've got to work through,” he said. “Typically you’ve got months to roll out something like this, and [the U.S.] Treasury’s managed to do it in one week.”

Already, lawmakers are looking to add additional money to the program. Congress originally approved $350 billion to launch the program. The White House is now asking for $250 billion more.

In interviews, both Hudson and Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-10th District, voiced support for additional dollars.

“There’s not enough that we can do to save small businesses in this moment of peril,” McHenry said. “This program’s working. We’ve got to make sure it works, make sure it delivers.”

With most of Congress out of town, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell attempted to pass the additional $250 billion in funding through the upper chamber Thursday using a maneuver called 'unanimous consent.'

Democrats blocked it. They are calling for modifications to the loan program, including ensuring half of the additional funding is routed through “community-based financial institutions” that they say service minority, veteran, and women-owned establishments and farmers. They also are calling for extra aid for hospitals, plus state and local governments amid the virus fight.

In a tweet, Sen. Thom Tillis, R-NC, said he was “disappointed” that the $250 billion in funding did not get through the Senate Thursday.

Under the PPP loan program, small business owners can receive loan forgiveness if the money is used on payroll, rent, mortgage interest, or utilities. More information about the program can be found here.