Legislation under consideration in the House of Representatives would reopen the Paycheck Protection Program, the federal government initiative that pumped emergency loans to U.S. businesses in an effort to keep them afloat amid the economic devastation of the coronavirus pandemic.

Rep. Steve Chabot, an Ohio Republican, and Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, a Washington Republican, have put forward a proposal that would extend the program by allowing small businesses with fewer than 300 employees to apply for a second PPP loan.

Rep. Jamie Herrera Beutler, left, and Rep. Steve Chabot

Introduced Wednesday, Sept. 16, the proposal came with a special discharge petition that could expedite a vote on the measure. Chabot and Herrera Beutler need a simple majority – 218 signatures – to force an expedited vote. Democrats control the House, but the Republicans who put forward the measure believe some of their counterparts could cross party lines to support the quick vote and the proposal itself.

“This is an absolutely crucial lifeline,” Herrera Beutler said, according to media reports. “To me, Congress has no business packing up and going home before we have extended the Paycheck Protection Program. I think it’s kind of been a political football, held hostage. The goal here is to release that and bring it to a vote.”

If approved, the proposal would enable a business that has fewer than 300 workers and has experienced a COVID-caused gross revenue decline of at least 25% to apply for a second PPP loan. Additionally, there’d be $25 billion earmarked specifically for small businesses with fewer than 10 employees. The deadline for applying for the loans would be Dec. 31, 2020.

Notably, certain restrictions on how PPP money could be spent that were in place during the first round of funding could be loosened. Under the new proposal, businesses could still have their loans forgiven even if they spend the money on things like supply costs, certain operating expenditures, cloud computing and even property damage that resulted from vandalism and looting.

The PPP launched earlier this year as part of the $2.2 trillion coronavirus relief package known as the CARES Act. Ultimately, the government pumped $670 billion into the PPP. Of that, a little less than $140 billion remains. All the money wasn’t snapped up before applications closed to new business on Aug. 8 because there was widespread confusion over forgiveness terms and how the money could be spent.

Proponents of the PPP say the loans to more than 5 million businesses have helped preserve 51 million jobs – a number some dispute. Still, with the economy in tatters, mass layoffs and business closures could be on the horizon without another cash infusion from the PPP, some warn.

“I’ve had so many business leaders in my communities, Main Street businesses, say, ‘Thank you for the PPP, it worked, it was helpful, it was definitely a bridge,’ ” Herrera Beutler told Fox Business. “This crisis is not over, and if we do not extend it, this is going to be a bridge to nowhere.”