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VyStar CEO: Lawmakers Federal Business Loan Program Will Be Replenished

VyStar Credit Union CEO Brain Wolfburg
Jacksonville Daily Record
VyStar Credit Union CEO Brain Wolfburg

VyStar Credit Union CEO Brain Wolfburg said April 16 he has received reassurance from Florida’s elected officials in Washington and Tallahassee that the federal Paycheck Protection Program will see more funding within “days to a week .”

WJCT News partner the Jacksonville Daily Record reports Washington lawmakers and the U.S. Small Business Administration officials announced April 15 the loan program designed to keep small business workers on payrolls during COVID-19 closures was out of money.

“By law, the SBA will not be able to issue new loan approvals once the programs experience a lapse in appropriations,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and SBA Administrator Jovita Carranza said April 15 in a joint statement.

Businesses can apply for a PPP loan to reimburse up to eight weeks of payroll costs if all employees are kept on the payroll. 

Related: Local, State, And National Coronavirus Coverage

The program’s original $350 billion in funding was part of the federal government’s $2.2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act signed by President Donald Trump on March 27. 

Money from the SBA program is loaned through national and local financial institutions, banks and credit unions. 

Wolfburg said he has been on phone calls with Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, and Gov. Ron DeSantis. He said Rubio offered a commitment to the financial institution that the PPP will be recapitalized.

“The additional funding for the PPP should be coming. They are committing to get that done,” Wolfburg said. “And if that does, these windows will open back up and we will continue to fund it the same as we have.”

Read the rest of this story at JaxDailyRecord.com.