C-Suite Wednesday –  Congressional Committee Reviews CARES Act

May 20, 2020

By Caity Witucki
Contributing Editor, C-Suite Wednesday

C-Suite Wednesday –  Congressional Committee Reviews CARES Act

On May 19, 2020 the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs held a hearing to evaluate the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. At the hearing, lawmakers discussed whether the spirit of the CARES Act has been fully realized through the implementation of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) as well as future economic relief efforts. 

“I am following what was the exact letter and spirit of the law that we negotiated with you and others on a bipartisan basis,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told the committee.  “In some of these facilities there are specific requirements, and I assure you that the Chair and I are absolutely enforcing those requirements as required in both the literal and spirit of the negotiations.”

Here are the highlights from the Senate committee hearing:

• The PPP 1502 reporting deadline may get extended beyond the current deadline of May 22, 2020 to accommodate small and medium-sized lenders who may have difficulty collecting the information needed to populate their 1502 reports.
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• Mnuchin called for a “bipartisan technical fix” to PPP which would allow small businesses to use their loans over more than just 8-weeks.
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• Treasury intends to expand financing for 10, 20, and 30-year bonds with very low-interest rates so that the money can be paid back and dealt with over a long period of time.
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• Secretary Mnuchin said the number one objective within the CARES Act is to keep people employed.
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• Senator Elizabeth Warren recommended the creation of a certification process that would ensure executives are held personally liable and are subject to criminal penalties if they provide false information or misuse CARES Act funds.

The entire committee hearing and member statements can be found here.