New Trump administration guidelines that tighten eligibility, retroactively, for the much-in-demand Paycheck Protection Program loans have sparked significant worries among member companies of a major construction contractor group. A leading engineering organization also has concerns about the PPP changes.

美国联合总承包商首席执行官史蒂芬·桑德尔（Stephen E. Sandherrnew Treasury and Small Business Administration guidance, issued April 28, has caused "severe and urgent" concerns among AGC members. He urged Mnuchin to issue revised guidelines quickly.

PPP由冠状病毒援助，救济和经济安全或Cares，ACT创建，旨在缓冲小型企业和非营利组织，从冠状病毒大流行的某些财务影响中缓冲。

AGC members' worry is whether they meet the new guidelines—with the changes coming more than three weeks after the loan program was formally launched.

Sandherr said in his letter, “If the latest guidance disqualifies AGC borrowers for program loans, they will have to pay the loans back and exhaust their cash and lines of credit, and the pandemic’s ultimate impact on their operations will be that much more severe.”

财政部已设定了5月7日的截止日期，以便公司在必要时偿还这笔钱。桑德尔还要求姆努钦（Mnuchin）延长该截止日期。

AGC并不是唯一关注新PPP指南的行业小组，该指南包含在常见问题文件中。

Jeff Urbanchuk, a spokesman for the American Council of Engineering Companies, said via email that the provisions Treasury added in the FAQ are "causing concern and confusion among firms about the loan program." Urbanchuk said, "They need to release full guidance to create certainty among industry."

当SBA 4月3日开始接受PPP申请时，请求涌入。《 Cares Act》对该计划的3490亿美元分配已在4月16日（该计划启动仅13天）之前消失。

大公司和PPP

Meanwhile, reports surfaced that large companies such as the Shake Shack restaurant chain applied for and received PPP loans.

The program was aimed at smaller companies, and the CARES Act set a workforce threshold of 500. But the statute allowed companies with multiple offices that each were below the 500-worker level to submit multiple applications.

报告引发了批评,许多小妈妈and-pop entities weren't getting PPP dollars. Shake Shack and some other PPP borrowers said they would return the money from the PPP loans.

此外，对PPP贷款的压倒性需求使国会为该计划提供了更多的钱。议员们通过了一项措施，其中包括该计划的311亿美元输液。

PPP的第二轮快速开端。它于4月27日和下午5点开放。SBA报道，4月29日，它批准了近900亿美元的新PPP贷款。

同样在4月28日，财政部和SBA发表声明说，他们现在计划审查所有价值超过200万美元的批准的PPP贷款，并“适当的贷款”。

此外，SBA在同一天修改了对潜在PPP借款人的指导。该机构表示，贷款申请人必须证明“当前的经济不确定性”使他们的贷款申请“为了支持正在进行的业务必要”。

该指南还表示，贷款申请人必须考虑“他们当前的业务活动以及他们获得其他流动性来源的能力”。

承包商对准则的“大声关注”

AGC的Sandherr在给Mnuchin的信中引用了指导的这两个部分。桑德尔说，AGC成员的大声关注是，有关该计划的最新指南正在增加他们的不确定性，并威胁要撤消[PPP]已经完成的许多好工作。”

Sandherr said, “While AGC borrowers want and intend to ensure that they are in full compliance with this guidance, they find themselves at a complete loss to determine whether they are.”

He added, “Just how does the federal government want or intend them to assess ‘their ability to access other sources of liquidity’?"

Some of the PPP criticism has centered on companies that are publicly held and thus could raise funds by selling stock. But Sandherr noted that “very few if any” AGC member firms are in that category.

但是，他补充说：“他们中的许多人确实拥有他们长期以来用来帮助他们管理现金流的信贷，并且经济不确定性远远超出了接下来的几周。”

AGC发言人Brian Turmail通过电子邮件告诉ENR，“我新利18备用们有很多成员问问题，[谁]绝对非常担心。”他说，他还没有听说过任何AGC成员尚未退还PPP资金。

施工PPP总计

建造companies received more round-one PPP dollars than any industry, with $44.9 billion.

Many AGC member companies were among the successful loan applicants in that first round. An AGC survey of its members, conducted April 20-23, showed that 44% of the 849 firms responding to the survey said they had received funds from PPP loans.

另外15％的人已批准了PPP贷款申请，但尚未收到资金。另有8％的人正在等待其贷款申请的决定，而7％的人申请了申请，但得知资金已经用尽。