Hurricanes tear through funds sought by Key Bridge small businesses

When two hurricanes hit the South this fall, the U.S. Small Business Administration warned Congress it would likely run out of money for loans. Ten days later, the department was tapped out.

That has left some of the small businesses seeking loans after the March collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in a lurch. Even though the SBA funds are depleted, requests for financial help from those affected by the bridge disaster continue to roll in, including 500 new applications in the last month.

It’ll take Congress to get SBA funds flowing again — something both the president and the governor urged this week.

The March 26 collapse, which left six construction workers dead, temporarily halted some work at the Port of Baltimore and has had a longer impact on trucking. Within days, about 1,000 small-business owners applied for a low-interest SBA loan. As of late this month, that applicant pool had grown to 6,000.

Of those, the SBA has approved loans for 2,131 applicants and disbursed about $88 million to 1,937 of them. While most of the businesses are in Maryland, others are based in Virginia, Delaware and elsewhere. Businesses in the trucking and warehousing industry make up a bulk of applicants and recipients for Key Bridge-specific loans.

After an event Tuesday at the Port of Baltimore with President Joe Biden, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore echoed Biden’s call for Congress to act quickly to replenish SBA funding.

“We need Congress to act and we are hoping that by the end of this year, they will fulfill that and they will supplement it,” Moore said.

Maryland is in its own budget crunch and can’t provide additional help for small businesses, Moore said.

Soon after the collapse, the state offered business owners $15 million in grants from the Maryland Department of Commerce. Another $27.5 million came from the Maryland Department of Labor through two different grants for employee retention and workers who are ineligible for unemployment benefits.

Both programs closed in July, three weeks after the port reopened.

Other major disasters contributed to the SBA’s funding drain. Hurricane Helene hit Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina on Sept. 26, leaving an estimated $250 billion worth of damages in its path, according to AccuWeather. Two weeks later, Hurricane Milton hit Florida’s Gulf Coast, causing an estimated $180 billion in damages.

The SBA received more than 37,000 applications after Hurricane Helene and offered more than $48 million to 700 applicants. Hurricane Milton in October garnered more than 12,000 applicants but no funds have been disbursed yet, according to the administration.

The SBA said in a statement that it will continue to process applications and encouraged businesses and households to apply. But there’s no money to send until Congress approves more funding.

Loans from the SBA are in high demand due to their favorable terms — 30-year loans with a 4% interest rate for small businesses and 3.25% for private nonprofits, and no accrued interest or repayment for 12 months after the first disbursement. Applications are accepted until Dec. 31.

“SBA will continue to support homeowners, renters, businesses and nonprofits in processing their applications to ensure they receive assistance quickly once funds are replenished,” SBA Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman said in a statement.