According to the Small Business Administration's
("SBA") Office of Advocacy, small businesses create
two-thirds of new jobs in the United States and are "the
lifeblood of the U.S. economy." And so it seems fitting that
the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security
("CARES") Act provided for $376 billion in emergency
funding for small businesses. In addition to emergency grants and
existing loan relief, the largest portion of the emergency funding,
some $349 billion, is allocated to the Paycheck Protection Program.
The SBA is administering the Paycheck Protection Program and CARES
authorizes the SBA to provide federally backed loans to businesses
with fewer than 500 employees ("small business") who were
in operation on February 15, 2020.
