On Wednesday, March 25, the Trump administration and Congressional leaders finalized an agreement on a $2 trillion relief package to help stimulate the economy amid the growing coronavirus pandemic. The bill would be the largest emergency aid package in U.S. history and could be a boon to small-business owners in the promotional product industry. The bill passed the Senate unanimously late Wednesday night, and now moves onto the House for a vote, then over to the president for quick enactment.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called the coronavirus relief package “a wartime level investment into our nation.”

The bill includes $250 billion for direct payments to individuals and families, $350 billion in small-business loans, $250 billion in unemployment insurance benefits and $500 billion in loans for distressed companies. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell described it on the Senate floor as “a wartime level of investment for our nation.”

Leaders in the promotional products industry expressed cautious optimism about the news. “Being that our industry is made up of small enterprises, this has to be a step in a better direction,” Memo Kahan, president of Top 40 distributor PromoShop (asi/300446), told Counselor. “I’m hopeful that business owners will take full advantage of the help and resources available. It takes some tedious work and understanding, yet it’s there for the taking.”

The stimulus bill would provide emergency federally guaranteed loans from community banks to small businesses that pledge not to lay off their workers. The loans would be to cover monthly expenses like payroll, rent and utilities, and the eight weeks of assistance would be retroactive to Feb. 15, according to USA Today.

The loans would be available until June 30 and would be forgiven if the employer continued to pay workers for the duration of the crisis, according to the New York Times. “There is broad general agreement that small businesses in this country will not be able to survive unless there is extraordinary assistance,” Sen. Marco Rubio told the Times. “The goal is to keep employees connected to their employers, so that people aren’t just having to stay home and aren’t just feeling the stress of being laid off, but the uncertainty of whether they’ll even have a job to go back to.”

Though exact details of how to apply for such loans is still forthcoming, business owners were already expressing enthusiasm. When asked if she would consider applying for one of the small-business loans for her Seattle-based distributorship Gifts by Design (asi/205947), Jamie Stone replied: “Yeah, you bet I would.”

She added that her company is currently financially stable so is not in dire need of the money, but if her company were able to get loan forgiveness for keeping everyone employed, it’s a definite option to look into.

Also on the table are one-time payments and protections for individuals. The bill would provide direct payments of up to $1,200 for most individuals and $2,400 for most married couples filing jointly, with an extra $500 for each child. That assistance would phase out for individuals who earn more than $75,000 and couples with more than $150,000 in income. (Individuals making more than $99,000 and couples making double that wouldn’t qualify.)

“I wish it was monthly,” Stone said. “I don’t know how far that’s going to go. … I think it’s just going to help people to get through.”

Unemployment insurance benefits would be expanded, increasing the maximum benefit by $600 a week for up to four months. Benefits would also be extended by 13 weeks. The unemployment program was also broadened to include freelancers, furloughed employees and gig economy workers.

This part of the stimulus package could also be a boon for factories and warehouses in the promotional products industry. “You could furlough employees and know they’d be paid for a long time,” said Jo Gilley, CEO of Top 40 distributor Overture Promotions (asi/288473) during a webinar with Counselor.

Stone agreed: “With so many factories closing and some distributors and suppliers laying people off with the intent that they can get unemployment … if they can actually earn almost their salary and get their jobs back when this is over, that would be a tremendous help to the economy and our industry.”

The bill also includes money for larger corporations, particularly those hardest hit, like passenger and cargo airlines. However, any company receiving a government loan would be prohibited from buying back stocks while getting assistance and for an additional year after. Companies that keep on workers despite significant loss of revenue could get a tax credit and defer payment of some Social Security taxes, according to USA Today. There’s also money in the bill to help hospitals and medical centers dealing with ballooning caseloads, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“I would just encourage smaller companies to be taking advantage of everything that’s available out of the marketplace right now to help you get through the next three months,” Gilley said. “They’re pouring money into the economy right now. Everything you can take advantage of right now, do it. This stimulus bill is for you. It’s meant to help.”