The following is a template from Loan Mantra for EIDL borrowers to use when reaching out to their senators with concerns about upcoming EIDL payments. The earliest EIDL repayment is set to begin on October 11, 2022.
EIDL Repayment: Letter Template
Re: Prime Opportunity to Help Small Business in Your District
Dear Senator ____________,
As a small business owner in [INSERT LOCATION] and a constituent in your district, I am writing to express my concern about the upcoming Emergency Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) loan payoff schedule. As you know, payments on EIDL loans are due this month, in mid-October, right before the holiday season.
For most small business owners, including myself, the timing of this schedule could not be more challenging! On October 11th, while countless U.S. shoppers will take advantage of “Amazon Prime Day”, small business owners will be scrambling to make our first EIDL payment.
We received this funding at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic when we were forced to close our doors to customers; but Amazon and other big box retailers remained open. Two years later, we are still fighting economic uncertainty. Especially now, as we are impacted by six months of rising interest rates and a looming recession.
Rather than risk EIDL loan default, I request your help in the following:
- Suspend EIDL payments for six months, or until April 2023, to allow small business owners another holiday cycle of earnings and temporary relief from loan payoff during early winter months when business is often slower.
- Fix and streamline the current loan payment and servicing systems (pay.gov and CAFS) and foster enhanced trust with EIDL borrowers. As it is, current borrowers, like me, are plagued by the hours of time and manual oversight required to ensure my payments are correctly attributed to my loan profile.
- Provide clear education about my EIDL repayment structure. As a borrower, it appears as though I am unable to allocate any portion of my monthly EIDL payment to the principal of my loan until the interest accrued over the past thirty months is paid in full. Meanwhile, while I am paying off the prior interest, more interest will continue to accrue. This schedule seems contrary to the Program’s goals to aid the “cornerstones of our community” while we recover from an emergency situation. It appears we are locked into predatory payment schedules that will forever chain us to debt.
Thank you for your service and help with this significant matter.
Regards,
[INSERT NAME, BUSINESS]
CC:
[Send CC to all that apply; Attach to form using the following links]
National Federation of Independent Business Owners
National Association of Women Business Owners
BNI (Business Network International)
National Restaurant Association
Local News (cc: Editor)
Contact Your U.S Senator by Email or Post:
Email:
U.S. Senate Contact List
- Web contact forms are available on most senators' websites
Letters/ Post:
The following standard address can be used:
The Honorable (Name)
United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510
For correspondence to a Senate committee or to a Senate committee chair:
U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship, Attn. Chair, Ben Cardin
United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510
Please include your return postal mailing address when corresponding with a Senate office.