为了快速解决建筑承包商标记的问题，财政部发布了新的指导为应对冠状病毒大流行造成的急剧下滑的企业的现金流量更多。

另一个积极的维evelopment regarding the PPP, created in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security, or CARES, Act, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on April 7 that the White House would ask Congress to add $250 billion to PPP, to supplement the $349 billion that the CARES Act provided for the program.

姆努钦（Mnuchin）表示，根据白宫出版社的一份报告，他期望参议院和众议院在几天内投票，以提供额外的资金。

Competition for the loans has been fierce. A White House official reported on April 6 that more than 10% of the available loan total had already been committed in about three days after PPP's April 3 launch.

PPP受欢迎的主要原因之一是，如果借款人将所有贷款收益用于薪资，健康保险费和某些其他类型的费用，则政府将原谅贷款，从而将其转变为赠款。公司还必须仅将贷款资金的75％用于工资。

The CARES Act states that companies, nonprofits and other entities with 500 or fewer employees are eligible for the loans.

AGC blasts SBA rule

But on April 2, the SBA issued an interim final rule that added a second requirement for construction companies seeking a PPP loan—their annual revenue also would have to stay within SBA-set limits that the agency uses to determine whether a firm qualifies for other SBA loans.

The Associated General Contractors of America contended that the SBA's interim final rule—stating that construction contractors must meet both the workforce-size and annual revenue limit—contradicted the CARES Act itself. [View 4/6/2020 ENR story on the loan program controversy这里。]。

AGC于4月4日敦促联邦官员发布一份新文件，以实质上推翻SBA的临时最终规则。4月6日，财政部发行正式guidance说，要符合PPP的资格，公司必须满足500名员工的门槛或年收入上限，但不必符合这两个标准。

Stephen Sandherr, AGC chief executive officer, in anApril 7 statement, praised the Trump administration for issuing the new PPP guidance. He said, “This change means the program is now more likely to help smaller firms continue to operate and retain staff.”

Jeff Urbanchuk, a spokesman for the American Council of Engineering Companies, said via email on April 8, "The law is very clear that engineering firms that fit within the 500-and-below employee metric qualify for the new SBA loans, and the latest Treasury guidance reinforces this point."

Urbanchuk noted that most engineering firms are small and "are essential to maintaining America's critical infrastructure." He added, "Our recovery coming out of this crisis will depend heavily on these smaller firms being able to use stimulus dollars to keep their people engaged in this essential work."

Bipartisan Backing for PPP Increase

Meanwhile, there was strong bipartisan sentiment on Capitol Hill for providing additional funds for the PPP loans.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said in an April 7statementthat “it is quickly becoming clear that Congress will need to provide more funding or this crucial program may run dry.”

McConnell said that he was working with Mnuchin and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and hoped to have the Senate approve the additional funding for PPP on April 9, when the Senate will be in pro forma session.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) also said more money is needed for the PPP.

舒默和众议院议长南希·佩洛西（Nancy Pelosi）（D-Calif。）表示，他们为小型企业提供2500亿美元的支持，但他们希望其中一半的款项“通过社区的金融机构进行渠道，这些机构为农民，妇女以及少数族裔和资深人士拥有农村，部落，郊区城市社区的企业和非营利组织。

They called for an additional $100 billion for hospitals and community health centers and other health systems to provide "desperately needed resources to the front lines of this crisis...."

In addition Schumer and Pelosi want $150 billion for state and local governments and a 15% increase in the maximum benefit under the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program.

Story updated on 4/8/2020 with comments from American Council of Engineering Companies and congressional Democratic leaders.