The Small Business Administration's COVID-19 Relief Programs

Summary

The Small Business Administration's COVID-19 Relief Programs

To help small businesses respond to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, Congress authorized several new relief programs to be managed by the Small Business Administration (SBA). Congress's efforts to address COVID-19's fiscal impacts on small businesses through the SBA resulted in a large increase in the SBA's operations and appropriations.

SBA's COVID-19 relief programs included:

• Paycheck Protection Program (PPP): forgivable loans to small businesses for expenses like payroll and rent
• COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs): loans for small businesses to meet their financial obligations
• Emergency EIDL Advance Payment: grants for COVID-19 EIDL applicants while their applications were processed
• EIDL Targeted Advance Payment: grants for COVID-19 EIDL applicants in low-income areas (also included supplemental grants)
• museums, theaters, and other venues with pandemic-related revenue loss
• Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF): grants for restaurants and bars with pandemic-related revenue loss

Congress appropriated a total of

$1.141 trillion

to the SBA in FY2020 and FY2021 to help respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

SBA Appropriations by Fiscal Year Billions $

Amounts have been rounded to the nearest billion dollars.

Most of the money Congress appropriated for SBA during the COVID-19 pandemic was for the PPP...

SBA Program Appropriations by Law

PL 116-136PL 116-139PL 116-260PL 117-2Total

PPP$349.0 $321.3 $284.5 $7.3 $962.0

COVID-19 EIDL$0.6 $50.0 $0.0 $0.5 $51.0

Emergency EIDL Advance$10.0 $10.0 $0.0 $5.0 $25.0

EIDL Targeted Advance$0.0 $0.0 $20.0 $10.0 $30.0

SVOG$0.0 $0.0 $15.0 $1.3 $16.3

RRF$0.0 $0.0 $0.0 $28.6 $28.6

Amounts have been rounded to the nearest hundred million dollars.

...and most of the money spent has also been for the PPP

$8B EIDL Targeted Advance

$15B SVOG

$20B Emergency EIDL Advance

$29B RRF

COVID-19 EIDL $378B

PPP $800B

Amounts rounded to the nearest billion dollars. Area of circle corresponds to expended amounts. As of October 2022, 95% of PPP loan value had been forgiven. SBA deferred repayment on COVID-19 EIDLs until 30 months after issuance. The SBA could distribute more money in COVID-19 EIDLs than it was appropriated because Congress provides appropriations for loan credit subsidies, allowing the SBA to loan more than the amount appropriated.

P.L. 116-136 was the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act

P.L. 116-139 was the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act

P.L. 116-260 was the Economic Aid to Hard-Hit Small Businesses, Nonprofits, and Venues Act

(Division N, Title III of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021)

P.L. 117-2 was the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021

Sources: CRS analysis of SBA Congressional Budget Justifications and various appropriations laws; CRS analysis of P.L. 116-136, P.L. 116-139, P.L. 116-260,

and P.L. 117-2; and SBA, various COVID-19 relief program spending reports.

Information prepared by Adam Levin, Analyst in Economic Development Policy, and Brion Long, Visual Information Specialist.

Margot Crandall-Hollick, Specialist in Public Finance, provided valuable assistance in developing this Infographic.

For more information and a full list of sources, see CRS Report R43846, Small Business Administration (SBA) Funding: Overview

and Recent Trends, CRS Report R46284, COVID-19 Relief to Small Businesses: Issues and Policy Options, CRS Report R46689, SBA Shuttered Venue Operators Grant Program (SVOG), and CRS In Focus IF11819, SBA Restaurant Revitalization Fund Grants.