Loan program from Small Business Administration in trouble after 'exhausting' hurricane funds

A federal loan program is running low on funds due to Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton occurring back to back, officials warn. 

The Small Business Administration (SBA) has about $50 million left for disaster loans at this time, according to a report from The Hill.

The agency says that funds will be depleted soon and it needs roughly $1.6 billion.

“SBA staff is currently on the ground across the country working to support communities impacted by disasters,” SBA Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman said, according to the outlet. 

She added that the administration is “quickly exhausting current federal funding to make new offers for affordable recovery loans to homeowners, renters, small businesses, and nonprofits.”

Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton occurred just days apart from each other, resulting in federal agencies and state governments attempting to rebuild and help those impacted by the storms. 

Some members of Congress, including from both parties and both chambers, as well as President Biden, have called for congressional recess to be interrupted so lawmakers can return to Washington and pass legislation to help aid the states in the southeast harmed by the storms.