Dear Friends, As you may know, yestreday, the president signed into law the Paycheck Protection Increase Act. Yesterday, I was proud to support this lifeline to families and businesses throughout Arkansas. The Paycheck Protection Increase Act will secure an additional $310 billion in funding for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Programs like the Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) and the PPP have provided critical relief to families and small businesses who have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Already, our state has benefitted from 21,000 loans totaling more than $2.7 billion for the hardworking Arkansans whose livelihoods have been impacted by the COVID-19 public health and economic crisis. The PPP loans have helped Arkansas businesses and nonprofits retain their employees and keep their businesses functioning during the current public health crisis. When the PPP ran out of its initial funding of $350 billion, more than 13,000 PPP loan applications were left pending, representing over $1.1 billion for Arkansas. Fortunately, Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Jovita Carranza and Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin announced that the SBA will resume accepting PPP loan applications on Monday, April 27, at 9:30AM CT from approved lenders on behalf of any eligible borrower. This will ensure that SBA has properly coded the system to account for changes made by the legislation. Approximately 80% of the PPP loans were approved by local community banks, with no lender accounting for more than 5% of the total dollar amount of the program. The chart below outlines the current Small Business Administration (SBA) lenders in Arkansas. According to the House Financial Services Committee, the vast majority of these loans, 74%, were under $150,000, which demonstrates that this program has been accessible to small businesses. These loans are going to pay workers who might have otherwise been laid off. Under the terms of this program, the majority of the loan must be used to cover payroll.  The chart below illustrates the industries that the PPP has assisted.  I am pleased that after concerns were raised by members of Congress, the Treasury Department issued guidance yesterday clarifying that some hospitals owned by governmental entities may be eligible for a loan from the PPP to keep their workers on the payroll. This is especially beneficial for our rural hospitals in Arkansas.  Hospitals that are partially owned by state and local governments and receive less than half of their total funds from public sources—excluding Medicaid—are eligible for a PPP loan. If you need information about PPP loans, please contact me at Hill.House.gov or call my office at (501) 324-5941.

• 4 NSTA Outstanding Science Trade Books
• 2 Junior Library Guild selections
• Starred Kirkus review
• Starred Publisher's Weekly review
• NCTE Notable Children's Book in Language Arts
• Eureka! Nonfiction Honor Book (California Reading Association)
• Novels for ages 8-14

One of Mims House Books' newest titles is featured below.

The Arkansas Division of Workforce Services (ADWS) has created a new informational website to answer questions about filing for UI benefits in Arkansas. 

To access that website, click HERE. 

Additionally, the ADWS has expanded their unemployment hotline hours. They are now open Monday through Saturday, from 6:00AM until 4:00PM CT. Their hotline number is (844) 908-2178.

The ADWS is currently implementing a new system based on the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) guidelines to include groups specified in the CARES Act such as those that are self-employed, working part-time, or employed in the gig economy. Unfortunately, this means that it will be a few more weeks until the ADWS is able to issue benefits for those applying under these new guidelines.

However, the ADWS has an alert system to notify these individuals when the application is available. Sign up here:

As of April 17, over 88 Americans had received their Economic Impact Payment established by Congress in the CARES Act.

If you have any questions regarding your eligibility, how you will receive your payment, or when you can expect your payment, check the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) Information Center HERE.

I understand how frustrating it can be to wait for these payments to reach you, especially if you receive an error message, or a message saying that the IRS does not have sufficient information. However, please be patient.

The IRS has been notified and is working to address this issue and to process all of the remaining payments for those who are eligible. 

The Wall Street Journal has stated that the next large wave of IRS payments is expected to be sent out in the coming week. These payments will likely go to two groups: The first group is tax filers who were able to use the IRS's “Get My Payment” tool to add bank information by midday on April 22. The other set is people who don’t file tax returns but who receive Social Security or Social Security disability benefits, according to the Treasury Department.

People who receive Supplemental Security Income or veterans benefits and don’t file tax returns should get their payments by early May.

If you are waiting for a paper check to arrive in the mail, the IRS has stated that these will take longer—up to several months—to process. 

Learn more about Economic Impact Payments HERE or on the image below. 

Congressman Hill was joined by the great-granddaughter and great-great-granddaughter of President Theodore Roosevelt, Joanna Sturm (third from left) and Mary Weld (third from right), respectively, in the ceremonial planting of a white oak tree on the southeast Capitol grounds.