Treasury Secretary Mnuchin announced 3 big changes to the PPP small business loan program as $130 billion in aid sits unused

Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post/Getty Images

• Mnuchin has recently unveiled a series of changes to the federal government's Paycheck Protection Program aimed at providing relief for small businesses.
• PPP has extended loans to over 4 million businesses, but $130 billion still sits unused.
• Changes include easing the terms to obtain loan forgiveness and allowing more people with criminal records to access the aid.
• Identities of companies benefiting from PPP will not be disclosed.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has recently announced a series of changes to the Paycheck Protection Program, a $660 billion federal initiative designed to tide over small businesses during the pandemic with forgivable loans.

In the wake of Friday's stunning jobs report that showed unemployment dropping to 13.3% instead of surging to 20% as many economists had predicted, experts have cited PPP's role in salvaging more jobs than previously thought.

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Since its implementation in March under the Cares Act, PPP has provided loans to over 4 million businesses, according to government data. However, $130 billion sits unused, and business owners say the program's shifting rules caused confusion.

Here are three of the biggest changes Mnuchin laid out on Wednesday in testimony before the Senate Small Business Committee.