Small Business Loan Program Exhausts Funds; Small Businesses Struggle to Stay Open
SCIUTTO: Some more sobering news on the economy this morning. And I'm sure we don't have to tell many of you sitting at home watching this, but here's the number. Another 5.2 million Americans filed new unemployment claims just in the last week. This in addition to 16 million Americans that filed for unemployment in the three weeks prior. Those numbers, Poppy, just off the charts.</s>HARLOW: Yes, I mean, it erases all of the gains, job gains, in the last 12 years since the great recession. All of this comes as small business -- the small business administration's loan program, right, Paycheck Protection Act, that is about to run out of money within a few hours. Let's go to our congressional reporter, Lauren Fox, on The Hill. So they're going to have to, lawmakers, agree on a lot more money to fund this. Does it look like they're going to be able to do that soon?</s>LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER: Well, they've been trying to work on this for about a week, Poppy, but, of course, today we expect that funding to finally run out. And that, of course, is going to put more pressure on Democrats and Republicans to come together. Now, what I'm told is that there have been negotiations between the Treasury secretary and Chuck Schumer, the leading Democrat in the Senate. We also know that Democratic staff and the Treasury staff are continuing to have these conversations. But, you know, the big issue is that this money ran out in less than two weeks. Remember, all of those technical glitches, remember all the complaints from lenders, concerns about the application process, all of those happened and yet 1.6 million loans have already gone out to businesses. And remember that that is significant because this is an agency that typically might go through about 25 billion, a little more than that, in loans in a year. This is an agency now that is approaching releasing $350 billion worth of loans in just under two weeks. Very significant numbers here. And, of course, we know that Majority Leader Mitch McConnell tried last week to increase funding, but Democrats continue to want more changes to other parts of the stimulus program. They want more money for hospitals, more money for state and local governments, all of that is coming as there is increasing pressure, of course, now to increase money for this specific group, Poppy.</s>SCIUTTO: Lauren, Democrats also pushing for more money to be available for businesses that traditionally can't get loans. Is there any progress on these issues or are there two sides still at loggerheads?</s>FOX: Well, it seems like, you know, what Democrats want is some structural changes to this program. One of the concerns was if you're a small business and you don't have a relationship with an existing lender, a bank or a credit union, it was harder for you to get some of these loans because banks and credit unions, they want to make sure that they are following the law, they want to make sure they know their customers before they offer these loans. Democrats want additional protections. Whether or not they get them, that's a big question.</s>SCIUTTO: All right. We will watch. A lot of businesses waiting on tenterhooks. Lauren Fox, thanks very much. Battling with the fear of completely shutting down, for good. Many small business owners are applying for unemployment themselves along with their employees.</s>HARLOW: First, the first time those who are self-employed, freelancers, or gig workers, can apply. Our Vanessa Yurkevich explains.</s>CHRISTINA MICKENS, OWNER, C. NICOLE PR FIRM: Everything was just -- was just prospering and just growing.</s>KRISTOPHER PAYNE, OWNER, WELL PLAYED GAMES: Everything was actually really good.</s>ANA CASTILLO, PRESIDENT, SAFE CRUISE PARKING: Business was great.</s>VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): But then, for these small business owners, it all came crashing down. Like many businesses around the country, Covid-19 changed everything.</s>CASTILLO: It was like apocalyptic. It was the scariest day ever.</s>YURKEVICH: Americans who are self-employed, gig workers, or freelancers can now apply for unemployment. Ana Castillo is one of them. Her family owns a cruise parking lot in Miami. But with no cruises, her income is zero.</s>CASTILLO: I mean my parents have put blood, sweat and tears into not only coming to this country and like building something for themselves, but, in general, like, Safe Cruise Parking was built from their savings, from every penny they've ever worked for.</s>YURKEVICH: Christina Mickens owns a PR company in Atlanta, and business is slow. As a single mom to a nine-year-old, she's the family's breadwinner. She hasn't heard back about her unemployment and her rainy day fund is drying up.</s>MICKENS: Sticking to the bare minimum, I would say by the end of April, maybe first two weeks of May, that that will be gone.</s>YURKEVICH: Kristopher Payne is in the same boat.</s>PAYNE: The bills don't stop between now and then. And the money is rapidly running out.</s>YURKEVICH: His gaming shop in North Carolina is a month away from shutting down.</s>PAYNE: I applied for the PPP, the idle loan, the grant, and I've also applied for unemployment. Nothing has worked out at this point.</s>YURKEVICH: With the backup in unemployment processing, Payne believes he's weeks away from a check.</s>PAYNE: If the unemployment came through, I would be able to turn all of that money into, you know, money that I would use for my business.</s>YURKEVICH: Forty-three percent of small business owners say they have less than six months until they'll close because of Covid-19, according to a survey by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. For some, the pure will to survive could be enough.</s>MICKENS: Failing is not something that's in my radar, or even in the back of my mind when it comes to my business. I know I won't be that 40 to 50 percent.</s>YURKEVICH: For others, the wound may be too deep.</s>CASTILLO: It's not just like the business, it's like the people behind it. And everything that they do to provide a service to you and to make a living for themselves. So I would just say, support your local businesses.</s>YURKEVICH: Vanessa Yurkevich, CNN, New York.</s>HARLOW: That's heart-breaking, all of those stories, and there are millions of them right now. OK, Vanessa, thank you for that. Ahead for us, U.S. intelligence and national security officials this morning are examining closely the origin of the coronavirus outbreak in China. How Beijing is responding to one possibility is next.