Emilie Munson is reporting for the Times Union Congress has approved new legislation to add more flexibility to the Paycheck Protection Program, a federal forgivable loan program for small businesses. The Senate unanimously passed a bill June 3, to make changes that will allow small businesses to use their loan money to cover expenses over 24 weeks instead of eight and still qualify for forgiveness. They also can use more of the loan for costs other than payroll, including rent; only 60 percent must now cover payroll in order to get forgiveness. The bill would also allow companies that are approved for loan forgiveness to defer payroll taxes. Finally, companies that do not meet the criteria to have the loan forgiven will now have five years instead of two to pay it back. The U.S. House of Representatives approved the measure last week. The bill now goes to President Donald Trump for his signature. The Small Business Administration has approved more than 4.5 million PPP loans to small businesses totaling more than $510 billion, including nearly 300,000 loans to New York businesses as of last week. The average loan in New York is $128,531. Read the full story in the Times Union.