Small-business owners hoping for second PPP to stay open through pandemic

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Thousands of small-businesses owners are waiting for President Donald Trump to sign a bill to help them.

However, Congress is in recess for the Fourth of July weekend, so any new help won’t come before mid-July.

Congress unanimously passed the Paycheck Protection Program extension until Aug. 8, and it gives more businesses more time to get a federal loan.

“If we had not gotten that PPP money, we’d probably have no money,” said Evan Dimov, owner of Too Much Sauce.

Lake Mary-based company Fountainhead is helping process the loans. He, like Sen. Marco Rubio and thousands of business owners, said what’s desperately needed now isn’t just an extension, but another round of PPP.

CEO Chris Hurn said he would guess $10 billion to $20 billion of funding could go out under the next wave.

“That could be hundreds of thousands of small-business owners,” he said.

Some lawmakers argue that restaurants and bars have been uniquely challenged, with at least one in four not expected to reopen after the pandemic ends.

A bill in the house would inject $120 billion into the industry to help restaurants, food trucks, caterers, taverns and bars.

“I’m a very optimistic person,” Dimov said. “I’m a fighter, but reality is here, knocking on the door.”

Video: Small-business owners hoping for second PPP to stay open through pandemic Thousands of small-businesses owners are waiting for President Donald Trump to sign a bill to help them.

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