Valley business owners react to Paycheck Protection Program as Senate approves additional funding

Some businesses didn't manage to get the loans.

PHOENIX - On Tuesday, the U.S. Senate approved another $310 billion to help small businesses struggling in the COVID-19 crisis.

Under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), the loan to the business is forgiven if most of the money is used to pay the employees. The bill could be on the President’s desk by the end of this week.

In Arizona, nearly 11,000 small businesses were approved to receive loan money from the first PPP in April, totaling more than #3.5 billion. While the numbers look impressive, there are more than half a million small businesses in Arizona, so there are businesses that have been left out in the cold.

Those affected by PPP speak

In Phoenix, Josh Garcia's deli was thrown a lifeline by the Federal government, as a result of PPP.

"[It] was a huge relief for us to be able to say we're going keep our doors open for the next couple of months, be able to pay our employees and be able to pay our bills," said Garcia.

Justin Piazza, however, was not so lucky. Piazza, who owns a Downtown Glendale pizzeria, was in the queue for PPP, but the $350 billion fund ran out of money before he could get it.

"50 publicly-traded companies got money. All got millions of dollars. Hundreds of millions of dollars. I feel like we’ve been hung out to dry," said Piazza.

Piazza is frustrated and not hopeful he will see any money from the second round of PPP funding. He has three restaurants, and fears he will have to close at least one of them.

"You never want to be in a position where you have to ask for anything, but I wasn’t in that position in March. We were doing great," said Piazza. "I had money saved up for summer, and this just killed us. It really killed us."

Garcia, meanwhile, says he feels for his fellow small business owners, and encourages them to hang in there and keep trying to secure PPP funds.

FOX 10 is working to keep you up to date with local and national developments on COVID-19. Every weekday on FOX News Now, our live coverage begins at 7 a.m. MST reporting the latest news, prevention tips and treatment information.

You can watch live in your FOX 10 News app or on the FOX 10 Facebook page.

Get the latest coronavirus news by downloading the FOX 10 News App. Our promise is that our alerts are there to inform you - not scare you.

You can also get the latest coronavirus news from around the country at coronavirusnow.com.

Additional resources

LIVE: Interactive Coronavirus case data and map

FULL COVERAGE: fox10phoenix.com/coronavirus

Coronavirus (COVID-19) - How it spreads, symptoms, prevention, treatment, FAQ

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus

https://espanol.cdc.gov/enes/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html (In Spanish/En Español)

Arizona COVID-19 Response - Public resources, FAQ, webinars

https://www.azdhs.gov/coronavirus

https://www.azdhs.gov/preparedness/epidemiology-disease-control/infectious-disease-epidemiology/es/covid-19/index.php#novel-coronavirus-home (In Spanish/En Español)

In order to protect yourself from a possible infection, the CDC recommends:

Avoid close contact with people who are sick.

Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.

Stay home when you are sick.

Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.

Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces using a regular household cleaning spray or wipe.

Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom; before eating; and after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing.