The amendment, sponsored by Representative Anthony Brown (D-MD) and co-sponsored by Representatives John Katko (R-NY), Troy Balderson (R-OH), Rodney Davis (R-IL), and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), was passed by voice vote.
The Brown amendment states that “no cost reduction or cash refund shall be due to the Department of Transportation or to a State transportation department, transit agency, or other recipient of assistance” on the basis of forgiveness of the payroll costs of a covered PPP loan.
Our PPP credits waiver was grouped together in a package of amendments to the NDAA, and that group of amendments was passed this afternoon by voice vote in the House! This means that our amendment will be part of the bill when it clears the House later this week.
On 9/, Steve Hall at ACEC National reported: The US House Rules Committee made the Brown-Katko Amendment in order for the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), meaning the amendment has been cleared and can be offered to the bill when it goes to the House floor this week. ACEC expects that our amendment will be grouped together with other non-controversial and bipartisan amendments and voted on as a package. We should have additional details on next steps soon. The NDAA enjoys strong bipartisan support overall, meaning this legislation has a very good shot at becoming law before the end of the year.
We are hopeful that we are now on a path to passage of the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill before the end of September. Theres still advocacy work for us to do, but lawmakers are one vote away from sending the bill to the presidents desk.
Last Tuesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi bowed to the demands of moderate members of her party and pledged to hold a final vote by September 27. The legislation includes $567.5B for transportation investments over five years, $55B to upgrade water infrastructure, $65B for the electric grid, $50B for resilience, and a host of other investments.
We are still optimistic about securing a legislative fix to the PPP/FAR credits clause problem before the end of the year. We came very close to inserting this language as an amendment to the bipartisan infrastructure bill, but Senators determination to pass the bill quickly prevented them from considering our and other amendments. We are now looking for a suitable piece of legislation to attach our amendment to. We are focusing on the upcoming appropriations bills, such as the Department of Transportation spending bill, because several of our amendment co-sponsors sit on the Senate Appropriations Committee.
The PPP / FAR is an important issue for some ACEC/MA Member Firms that needed PPP loans in 2020 during dire times
ACEC supports a simple fix in the major US infrastructure bill outlined above to clarify that the FAR credits clause will not apply to PPP loans: Principal amounts of qualifying loans forgiven pursuant to the provisions of Section 1106 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (Pub. L. 116-136) shall not be considered income, a rebate, allowance, or other credit received by or accruing to a contractor under 48 CFR -5.
Well keep you posted every step of the way of course, but todays best online payday loans in Delaware win is a huge step forward in our efforts to protect firm PPP loans!
This issue impacts engineering and land surveying firms with PPP loans that are seeking loan forgiveness if they work on projects for MassDOT, MBTA, Massport, MWRA and certain municipalities, depending on their funding sources. ACEC/MA strongly encourages members to advocate to their members of Congress.
