CARES Act | The Contracting Education Academy

August 28, 2020 By cs

PPP loan forgiveness: Challenges for lenders

Since April 2020, more than 5,400 lenders across the United States have faced common challenges arising from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

Participating lenders have been charged with interpreting a slew of evolving regulatory guidance while vetting millions of borrower applications.

Participating lenders have also been tasked with responding to information requests from Congress, federal regulators and law enforcement authorities investigating potential fraud and abuse in the emergency loan program. Yet another challenge looms on the horizon as lenders determine whether and to what extent disbursed PPP loans are eligible for forgiveness.

At first glance, the forgiveness process appears simple. A PPP borrower must complete an application for forgiveness and submit the application to its lender. The lender is then responsible for approving or denying the borrower’s forgiveness application by verifying certain documentation and calculations and then requesting payment from the SBA, as applicable.

However, because the lender stands between the PPP borrower requesting forgiveness and the federal government making payment, lenders face a number of challenges and risks in connection with PPP loan forgiveness.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.mondaq.com/unitedstates/financial-services/977036/ppp-loan-forgiveness-challenges-for-lenders

The Contracting Education Academy at Georgia Tech has established a webpage where all contract-related developments related to the coronavirus (COVID-19) are summarized. Find the page at: https://contractingacademy.gatech.edu/coronavirus-information-for-contracting-officers-and-contractors/

August 19, 2020 By cs

Money For nothing … except potential False Claims Act liability

Businesses and health care entities that receive CARES Act funds become attractive targets for whistleblowers and government auditors.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act (P.L. 116-136) was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Trump on March 27, 2020. The CARES Act provides over $2 trillion of economic relief in order to protect the American people from the public health and economic impacts of COVID-19. Throughout its more than 300 pages, the CARES Act implements many initiatives targeted at various industries and economic sectors that are designed to stimulate cash flow and provide security for those at-risk.

The most notable provisions of the CARES Act impact individuals directly and include an expansion of unemployment benefits and direct payments to individuals under a certain income threshold. The CARES Act also provides protections for both large and small businesses, including $500 billion allotted for distressed industries, as well as $376 billion to small business in the form of various lending programs.

The CARES Act also appropriates $100 billion to establish the “CARES Act Provider Relief Fund” for the benefit of hospitals and other eligible health care providers for health care related expenses or lost revenues due to COVID-19, which was further supplemented in April 2020 with an additional $75 billion under the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act (PPP Act).

In addition, the CARES Act authorizes relief to federal contractors and subcontractors for paid sick leave incurred to keep workers in a ready-state. In order for businesses to take advantage of these funds, they are required to complete applications and make representations as to eligibility to receive the appropriated funds.

While such a massive infusion of cash into the US economy is welcome by individuals and businesses impacted by COVID-19, such payouts come with complex strings attached, and therefore present opportunities for companies and individuals to run afoul of federal law.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.mondaq.com/unitedstates/government-contracts-procurement-ppp/973148/money-for-nothingexcept-potential-false-claims-act-liability

August 13, 2020 By cs

Annual government spending approaches historic territory

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the federal government into emergency spending mode, agencies — including the Defense Department — were on pace to blow past the single-year contract spending record of $598 billion set in fiscal 2019.

As of Aug. 5, the federal government has obligated $438 billion in spending, with agencies expected to unload almost $200 billion more before the close of the 2020 fiscal year on Sept. 30, according to a Bloomberg Government analysis. The government typically spends about one-third of all money appropriated by Congress in its fourth quarter — July, August and September — since most money unspent is returned to the Treasury.

“We’ve been saying at the end of fiscal 2020, total government spending is likely to be around $630 billion,” Daniel Synder, director of government contracts analysis at Bloomberg Government, told Nextgov. “That was before we factored anything related to the CARES Act or COVID-19 spending.”

Synder said the $2 trillion stimulus package passed in March could add another $10 billion to $20 billion to the government’s total discretionary spending in fiscal 2020 — much of it on networking capacity, bandwidth and telework services — which would put the government’s total discretionary spending to $650 billion or more.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.nextgov.com/cio-briefing/2020/08/annual-government-spending-approaches-historic-territory/167474/

July 27, 2020 By cs

Government contractors and financing a post-coronavirus ‘reboot’ of the economy

When the shutdown ends, contractors will be busy.

When the economy does begin to recover from our nationwide lockdown, one certainty is that it will not be as simple as “turning the lights back on.”

Companies may have a long road back to full strength as they go through the process of restoring their workforces, rebuilding supply chains and planning for growth in a new, unfamiliar economy.

One certainty, however, is that government contractors will be in high demand as agencies face a backlog of project work as well as new initiatives grown out of coronavirus recovery plans. Taking the right steps now will be essential to aligning these resources with expected need.

So why will government contractors face a surge in demand when COVID-19 restrictions lift? One reason is that many projects that were underway in the spring, particularly construction projects, will once again come back online after being placed on hold due to social distancing guidelines. Construction on roads, bridges and highways is expected to peak as state and federal agencies race to catch up on work planned and postponed for the spring and summer periods.

Keep reading this article at: https://federalnewsnetwork.com/commentary/2020/07/government-contractors-and-financing-a-post-coronavirus-reboot-of-the-economy/

July 23, 2020 By cs

Georgia Tech’s Economic Development Administration University Center awarded $300,000 grant

Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding a $300,000 CARES Act Recovery Assistance grant to the Georgia Institute of Technology’s EDA University Center.

The grant will be used to boost the center’s capacity to support regional economic development strategies in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

“The Trump Administration is eager to allocate these essential CARES Act funds and deliver on our promise to help American communities recover from the impact of COVID-19,” said Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross said in a statement. “I am proud of the perseverance and strength shown by our communities coast to coast throughout this pandemic, and these funds will help provide Georgia with the necessary resources to make a swift and lasting economic comeback.”

The CARES Act, signed into law by President Donald J. Trump, provides EDA with $1.5 billion for economic development assistance programs to help communities prevent, prepare for, and respond to the coronavirus pandemic.

EDA CARES Act Recovery Assistance, which is being administered under the authority of the bureau’s flexible Economic Adjustment Assistance (EAA) (PDF) program, provides a wide-range of financial assistance to eligible communities and regions as they respond to and recover from the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.

EDA university centers marshal the resources found in colleges and universities to support regional economic development strategies in areas challenged with chronic and acute economic distress.

Tech was the first institution of higher learning to be designated an EDA University Center when the program was launched in the 1960s. It has been an EDA award recipient since inception — the only institute of higher learning with that distinction.

Tech’s EDA University Center, an offering of its economic development arm, the Enterprise Innovation Institute, will use the CARES Act funding to support three specific activities with businesses, communities, and entrepreneurs in Georgia:

Conduct, share, and disseminate applied research to address specific challenges or needs, or solve specific problems resulting from the economic impacts of coronavirus.
Provide technical assistance to entrepreneurs, businesses and communities to assist in their recovery efforts from the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.
Assist communities in identifying, defining, and supporting their workforce talent with the goal of helping communities recover from the economic impacts of coronavirus.

“We always incorporate new, innovative approaches in working with our clients,” said Georgia Tech EDA University Center Director Lynne Henkiel. “Georgia businesses and communities are all dealing with the effects that COVID-19 on their operations and local economies. This funding will help support our work and development of programs and training for business and community leaders to evaluate and reassess their activities to help them get back up and operating quickly.”

Among some of the services that Tech’s EDA University Center will offer under grant include business counseling, feasibility studies, and resilience plans, as well as skills development and workforce training, among other offerings.

“This investment comes at a crucial time to help Georgia’s and our nation’s economy come roaring back and provide hard-working Americans with new opportunities,” said Dana Gartzke, performing the delegated duties of the assistant secretary of commerce for economic development. “We are pleased to make this investment in Georgia Tech’s Enterprise Innovation Institute to respond to the coronavirus pandemic by assisting communities across Georgia develop short and long-term resilience plans with additional support for workforce development initiatives.”

In 2018, the most recent reporting data available, the EDA University Center at Georgia Tech worked with 13 clients and helped them save or create 57 jobs and secure more than $1.4 million in private and public sector investments.

Source: https://innovate.gatech.edu/blog/georgia-tech-economic-development-administration-university-center-awarded-300k-grant/

Since April 2020, more than 5,400 lenders across the United States have faced common challenges arising from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

Businesses and health care entities that receive CARES Act funds become attractive targets for whistleblowers and government auditors.

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the federal government into emergency spending mode, agencies — including the Defense Department — were on pace to blow past the single-year contract spending record of $598 billion set in fiscal 2019.

When the shutdown ends, contractors will be busy.

Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding a $300,000 CARES Act Recovery Assistance grant to the Georgia Institute of Technology’s EDA University Center.

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