More than 25,000 businesses in Maine have been approved to receive more than $2 billion in loans from the federal Paycheck Protection Program.
A recent national survey from theNational Federation for Independent Business found that about 80 percent of Respondents applied for the program, and many got their funds over the past month.
David Clough, the Maine State Director for the NFIB, says the program has helped to keep businesses afloat and employees on the payroll as sales have fallen because of the pandemic. “One's left wondering, how things would be without the program.”
But Clough says some businesses would like additional flexibility in how they can spend the funds.
“Then there's also the matter that, when Congress passed this, they didn't envision that state shutdowns would go on as long as they have, nor that the restart of the economy would be as gradual as it's going to be. So that may need revisiting.”
Many responding businesses say the terms of the loans were difficult to understand, and that they have struggled to comply with specific requirements around how loan funds can be spent.
Some federal lawmakershave said that they are hoping to revisit the program in the future.
