Coronavirus stimulus package covering hemp industry clears Congress

A $2.2 trillion package designed to prevent the U.S. economy from collapsing has room for hemp businesses and farms and has cleared Congress and awaits the president’s signature.

The relief package allows legal hemp operators to seek loans and direct aid to keep their businesses afloat.

The measure includes:

• $10 billion for Small Business Administration emergency grants, with up to $10 million of emergency relief per business
• Up to $50 billion in borrowing authority for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Commodity Credit Corp., often called CCC.

The legislation also establishes a $454 billion program for guaranteed, subsidized loans to larger industries in hopes of leveraging up to $4.5 trillion in lending to distressed businesses, states, and municipalities.

President Donald Trump was expected to sign the bill.

“This is a time to remember that we are citizens of the greatest nation on Earth, that we have overcome every challenge we have faced, and we will overcome this one,” GOP Whip Liz Cheney of Wyoming said.

-Associated Press and staff reports