WASHINGTON, D.C. — Spirits were high back on March 27, when Congress passed that massive $2.2 trillion coronavirus relief package.

• The debate over refilling small business loan program foreshadows future roadblocks
• Republicans and Democrats divided over what next step should be
• $350 billion loan program ran out of money last Thursday

As part of it, the Paycheck Protection Program was created.

It established a $350 billion forgivable loan program that could keep small business employees paid and the lights on.

But this past Thursday, the money ran out. And a debate over how to add more was already happening.

Democrats, like Representative Tim Ryan (D, 13th Congressional District), support the program getting more funding, but only if more money is set aside at the same time for local and state governments that are also feeling a financial strain.

“There is a panic ensuing among local elected officials and mayors that we need the help,” Ryan said during a virtual press conference last week. “And [Senate Majority Leader] Mitch McConnell and the president are standing in the way. They want this just to be money for the small business — which I’m entirely for! They absolutely need it! But everybody needs help right now, and if we think we’re just going to pick and choose people to help, that’s the wrong way to go about our business. That’s the gridlock right now that’s happening.”

Republicans, like Rep. Warren Davidson (R, 8th Congressional District), think the Paycheck Protection Program is the priority right now because it’s preventing more people from filing for unemployment, and it’s helping keep businesses from shutting down permanently.

He’s also worried about Washington injecting money directly into local communities.

“You don’t want to have the federal government reaching past states to manage cities,” Davidson said in a Skype interview last Friday. “And you also don’t want to say that the states have an open checkbook to run their system however they want to run their system. They shouldn’t do it with no thought to the other implications for their states.”

There are nearly 950,000 small businesses in Ohio.

Before the money ran out, almost 60,000 had applied and been approved for over $14 billion in loans.

Nationally, the top four types of businesses applying are: construction, professional/scientific/technical services, manufacturing, and healthcare/social assistance.

So, the need is clearly there. And lawmakers on both sides of the aisle agree on that.

But what’s important to remember is the Paycheck Protection Program was the first part of that huge relief package to actually go into effect. And even though it was celebrated by both parties, there wasn’t bipartisan agreement over how to keep it going before it ran dry.

So as other coronavirus programs and funds start running out of money, there will likely be more disagreements and delays. And Ohio lawmakers provide a great example of the divide.

Senator Rob Portman (R-Ohio) thinks it’s too early to create new relief programs because he said the overall need isn’t clear yet.

In a conference call with reporters last week, he explained that he wants the next legislative step to be adding on to things like the Paycheck Protection Program.

“Where we kind of take the existing programs and improve them and fill the gaps,” Portman said. “And then, once we are able to start reopening appropriately during a transition, that’s when you need the stimulus to actually get this economy moving again, get people back to work, get incomes back.”

But Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) said there are high priority needs across the board right now; and he’s worried about the intentions of McConnell, the top Republican in the Senate.

“It’s a dire situation for a whole lot of people, and frankly, I think that knowing Mitch McConnell’s past, he’ll help this group and then he’ll turn his back on everybody else,” Brown said in a video conference interview last week. “So I want to do this as a package, it’s the only fair way — it’s the only way we’ll really get it done and get that help to people as quickly as possible.”

The latest reporting from Capitol Hill, as of Monday evening, indicated a deal is close to being reached to provide $300 billion more to the Paycheck Protection Program, plus some money for hospitals and testing.

But details are still being worked out, and though a vote on it could potentially happen this week, an exact timeline hasn’t been finalized.