President Trump has signed a compromise measure that provides $310 billion to revive the federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)—which aims to assist financially strapped small businesses, including those in construction, engineering and building materials—with forgivable loans to help them cope with economic blows struck by the coronavirus pandemic.

新的立法方案《薪水保护和医疗保健增强法》于4月24日签署为法律，不到24小时，众议院以压倒性的388-5投票通过了它。

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众议院投票是在参议院两天前对该措施的一致批准之后。

The Congressional Budget Officeestimates the measure's total cost at $483.4 billion.

PPP输液将重新开放一项计划，该计划的初始资金全都在4月16日之前投入了。

特朗普签署该法案后仅数小时，财政部长史蒂文·姆努钦（Steven Mnuchin）和美国小型企业管理局负责人乔维塔·卡兰扎（Jovita Carranza），宣布that SBA will resume taking PPP loan applications on April 27, at 10:30 Eastern time "from approved lenders on behalf of any eligible borrower."

The package also includes $75 billion to help hospitals and health-care workers, plus $25 billion for expanded virus testing and research and development at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health.

In addition, the measure includes $50 billion for SBA disaster relief loans and $10 billion in SBA disaster grants.

PPP, which the agency administers, was created in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which President Trump signed into law on March 27.

The program was formally launched on April 3, and quickly became flooded with requests from companies and nonprofit organizations. It exhausted its $349-billion initial funding in less than two weeks.

PPP's construction and engineering impact

Construction industry firmsreceived the largest share根据SBA的说法，最初的PPP贷款资金为449亿美元。

Anew Associated General Contractors of America surveyshows that 44% of the 849 responding firms said they had received funds through the loan program. An additional 15% said their loan applications had been approved but they had not yet received funds. The survey was conduced April 20-23.

此外，8％的AGC公司正在等待其申请的答复，有7％的公司已申请，但被告知没有更多资金可用。

AGC首席经济学家肯·西蒙森（Ken Simonson）在一份声明中说，许多收到PPP美元的AGC公司“已经带回了休假工人或增加了员工，即使更多的客户正在停止和取消项目。”新利18备用网址

The program also has been popular among engineering firms, which fall under a different SBA category. About 72% of American Council of Engineering Companies member firms responding to a recent survey had applied for a PPP loan and 14% planned to apply.

“This underscores the program’s critical importance during the coronavirus crisis,” ACEC spokesman Jeff Urbanchuk told ENR via email.

More construction and engineering firms almost certainly had applied for loans and were waiting for them to be processed when the lending window closed on April 16. The new bill should provide help for at least some of those.

Brian P. McGuire, CEO of the Association of Equipment Dealers, said that PPP has helped dealerships keep workers employed and added that “the new funding will allow more equipment distributors to benefit.”

目前尚不清楚新的PPP资金将持续多长时间。美国建筑师研究所表示，它鼓励公司迅速申请贷款。

希望下一个软件包

As they pursue the PPP dollars, construction contractors, engineering and architectural firms and equipment companies will be focusing on another followup economic stimulus measure.

AIA执行副总裁罗伯特·艾维（Robert Ivy）在一份声明中敦促国会“继续支持对今天仍然可行的企业至关重要的经济救济，并在恢复漫长的漫长道路上，这是至关重要的，”

What industry companies and firms most want to see in a new package is a substantial amount of new federal infrastructure funding.

AGC首席执行官斯蒂芬·桑德尔（Stephen E.

姆努钦（Mnuchin）在4月21日的白宫简报上指出，特朗普曾表示，政府期待“第四阶段”法案，并补充说“这将是基础设施”。

Mnuchin added, "The President has been talking about infrastructure since the campaign: roads, bridges, broadband. Especially, broadband now to rural America is very important."

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said on the same day, “There will be a a big, broad, bold ‘COVID-4’ [bill].” He added, “For anyone who thinks this is the last train out of the station, that is not even close to the case.”

舒默承认，特朗普有利于一项基础设施措施，但参议院民主党人没有说他本人是否也想在下一个立法“火车”上看到公共工程组成部分。