July 4, 2020 | 1:02pm
Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo
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President Trump signed legislature Saturday extending the deadline for businesses to apply for funding under the Paycheck Protection Program.
The COVID-19 relief legislation enacted in March expired on Tuesday with more than $130 billion in unused funds remaining. With his signature, the deadline for eligible businesses to apply was extended until Aug. 8.
The program has been an essential lifeline for businesses around the country, which have been crippled by pandemic-related lockdowns.
The PPP program was among the most visible parts of a $2 trillion relief package passed by Congress as the coronavirus threw the country into a painful recession and created millions of newly unemployed Americans.
Congressional Democrats have been looking for an even more sweeping round of stimulus to arrest damage to the economy. In May they passed a $3 trillion package, with additional relief for businesses and a $1,200 round of direct transfer payments for individual Americans.
Trump has said he supports some form of additional direct payments, but Congressional Republicans have balked at the idea.
