Mark Niquette

The Senate has passed an extension of the popular Paycheck Protection Program for small businesses, which was set to close down Tuesday night with more than $130 billion in funding left over.

The head of a federal watchdog agency had some direct experience with the shortcomings of one of the coronavirus stimulus programs — a check from the IRS made out to his late mother.

The federal government’s quick action to issue stimulus payments led to more than a billion dollars of fraudulent payments, according to the GAO.

The Trump administration, following a backlash, said it would release details about companies that received loans of $150,000 or more from a coronavirus relief program for small businesses.

The bill, which passed the House last week on a 417-1 vote, now heads to President Donald Trump’s desk for his signature.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will attempt to expedite approval of changes to the popular Paycheck Protection Program aimed at giving small businesses more flexibility in using the money from the fund, according to Senate aides.

The House voted Thursday to give small businesses financially strapped by the COVID-19 crisis more flexibility to spend forgivable loans for payrolls and expenses from the government’s popular Paycheck Protection Program.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin says the additional funding Congress approved Thursday to help small businesses survive the coronavirus pandemic should be the last round, but advocates fear it’ll run out quickly and won’t be enough for mom-and-pop shops struggling to stay open.

The Trump administration’s $349 billion small-business rescue kicked off Friday surrounded by concerns about its ability to handle an expected flood of applications and deliver enough aid to mom-and-pop firms hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic.

Michael Bloomberg is proposing a financial transactions tax of 0.1 percent and merging Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as part of a proposal for regulating Wall Street for a financial system “strong enough to weather crises without harming the broader economy or requiring taxpayer bailouts.”