President Joe Biden on Tuesday visited with small business owners in Washington, D.C., who benefited from his administration’s expansion of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), pledging continued assistance for business owners in the coming weeks.  

What You Need To Know

  • President Joe Biden visited with several small business owners who received grants thanks to his administration's expansion of the Paycheck Protection Program on Tuesday

  • In late February, Biden established a two-week window — which ends Wednesday — in which only businesses with fewer than 20 employees could apply for the forgivable loans

  • Hardware store W.S. Jenks & Son, as well as Little Wild Things Farm, are both small businesses who received PPP grants during the exclusivity period

  • The House is expected to vote on Biden's $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan on Wednesday; the current bill provides an additional $7.5 billion in PPP funding

The president traveled to Washington-area hardware store W.S. Jenks & Son, established in 1866, which was able to qualify for a loan after the Biden administration made changes to the pandemic-era PPP in late February in an effort to offer more federal assistance to "mom-and-pop" stores. The renewed program established a two-week window – which closes Wednesday – in which only businesses with fewer than 20 employees could apply for the forgivable loans.

Biden’s team also carved out $1 billion to direct toward sole proprietors, such as home contractors and beauticians, the majority of which are owned by women and people of color.

The president met with Jerry and Mike Siegel, co-owners of the historic store in Washington, as well as Mary Anna Ackley, owner of Little Wild Things Farm, another small business-owner who received a PPP grant during the exclusivity period. 

“I hope this is going to continue to increase,” Biden said Tuesday of grants going to small businesses, adding: “Because we’re also at a point where, I think, we’re going to regain control of this virus.” 

First rolled out in the earliest days of the coronavirus pandemic and renewed in December, the program was meant to help keep Americans employed during the economic downturn. It allows small and mid-size businesses suffering loss of revenue to access federal loans, which are forgivable if 60% of the loan is spent on payroll and the balance on other qualified expenses.

Data from the Paycheck Protection Program released Dec. 1 and analyzed by The Associated Press show that many minority owners desperate for a relief loan didn’t receive one until the PPP’s last few weeks while many more white business owners were able to get loans earlier in the program.

The Biden effort is aimed at correcting disparities in how the program was administered by the Trump administration.

Biden criticized his predecessor’s distribution of PPP loans, saying Tuesday that “a lot of the money went to people who shouldn't have gotten help.” 

The owners of the hardware store expressed their appreciation for the increased funding during Biden’s visit, telling the president they “appreciate (his) leadership” on the issue. 

Biden’s visit with the business owners comes as Congress appears poised to pass the president’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, with the House expected to hold a vote on Wednesday. 

Should it pass, small business owners can expect more relief coming their way. The version of the American Rescue Plan approved by the Senate over the weekend provides an additional $7.5 billion in PPP funding, but does not extend the current application deadline further than the already scheduled date of March 31. 

The plan also proposes $15 billion for Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) Advance Grants, which will be geared towards small businesses in low-income communities who have been most severely impacted by the pandemic. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.