New Bill Serves Up Additional Opportunity for the Restaurant Industry

In what would be a tremendous victory for the restaurant industry, the House is expected to vote next week on a stand-alone, bipartisan Paycheck Protection Program bill. HR 6886, introduced by Representatives Chip Roy (R-Tex) and Dean Phillips (D-Min) would change aspects of the CARES act to make them more favorable. 
 
The new bill would implement the following changes:

• Extend the covered period from 8 weeks after loan disbursement to the earlier of 24 weeks after loan origination or December 31, 2020

• Extend the date for the rehire exception from June 30, 2020 to December 31, 2020

• Adds a new exemption based on employee availability

• Eliminate restrictions limiting non-payroll expenses to 25 percent of loan proceeds

• Eliminate restrictions that limit loan terms to two years

• Ensure full access to payroll tax deferment for businesses that take PPP loans, regardless of whether their loans are forgiven

The Trump administration seems to support the idea of allowing the 8-week time period to be extended.  Stay tuned for updates…