Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program

The federal program to help small businesses stay afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic ended last week. The Paycheck Protection Program stopped accepting applications Friday when its funding dried up.

A barber, a restaurant owner and a hot tub store president. Those were among the small business owners in Bozeman who shared stories with state and federal officials this week as Congress debates the next round of economic aid during the pandemic.

$1.8 billion in PPP loans have been approved to 22,785 Montana recipients — roughly a fifth of the state’s 123,000 small businesses.