In the wake of the new financial stimulus bill, the American Land Title Association looked back at the thousands of jobs that have been saved so far by the Paycheck Protection Program.
This week Congress passed a $900 billion stimulus bill that includes personal payments of $600 per person, an added $300 per week in unemployment benefits and sets aside another $285 billion for loans under the paycheck protection program, among other things. And House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said that rent relief will amount to approximately $25 billion of the bill.
When Congress passed the COVID-19 stimulus bill on Tuesday, the housing industry welcomed it, saying it would help Americans in need and give a boost to the economy. ALTA was among the organizations offering its support.
“The American Land Title Association, the national trade association of the land title insurance industry, thanks Congress for their leadership in coming together to pass this much-needed round of relief and stimulus to help struggling Americans during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic,” ALTA said in a statement.
“This package will also go a long way to supporting small businesses by providing continued liquidity options through the Paycheck Protection Program. Additionally, streamlining the PPP loan forgiveness process and allowing deductibility for expenses paid for with PPP proceeds for these hard-hit businesses will save them billions of dollars and hours of paperwork, allowing them to focus on serving customers and keeping employees safe.”
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HousingWire recently spoke with Susan Falsetti, managing director of Origination Title and Close at ServiceLink, about the state of the title industry.
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In its statement, ALTA also revealed that more than 51,000 title industry jobs have already been saved by the PPP funding.
“ALTA strongly advocated alongside its industry partners for inclusion of these provisions, highlighting another advocacy victory alongside many others to close out 2020,” ALTA stated. “PPP funding for ALTA members and the broader title industry, as essential businesses, has been critical in allowing them to continue to serve American consumers at an important time.
“Data released by the Treasury Department this past summer highlighted that more than 5,100 title and settlement companies received funds from the Paycheck Protection Program, saving over 51,000 industry jobs, with 81% of loans received by the industry under $150,000.”
However, statements from President Donald Trump have cast new doubts on whether he will sign the stimulus package bill. Trump called the bill a “disgrace,” and called on Congress to increase the individual payments to $2,000.
“I am asking Congress to amend this bill and increase the ridiculously low $600 dollars to $2,000, or $4,000 for a couple,” Trump said.
