The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), the troubled aid program meant to act as a backstop for thousands of businesses impacted by the pandemic, officially ends today with $130 billion left unspent, according to the New York Times.

The PPP was a major component of the CARES Act, implemented in response to widespread business closures in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. While demand for loans through the program was initially strong, applicants became angry and frustrated over numerous implementation problems that became apparent as it went on, such as preferential treatment for large corporations, a Kafkaesque application process, crashing computer systems and persistent confusion over the terms and conditions of the loans. Further, the program soon found itself short on funds, with the entire $349 billion sum exhausted in just 13 days, which prompted the government to enact a second round of funding shortly afterward, refilling the PPP with an additional $320 billion.

While lenders initially expected demand for the second round of funding to match the first, prompting concerns that the money would once more quickly run out, this turned out not to be the case. What happened, it seemed, was that many of the small business owners who were the ostensible targets for these loans concluded that, given the shifting rules and regulations surrounding the loans, they were just more trouble than they were worth. In particular, many were either confused about the conditions upon which the loans could be forgiven, while others understood the terms just fine but thought they were too onerous. These concerns prompted the government to relax some of the forgiveness terms, such as the time in which one had to spend the money and the degree to which it must be spent on payroll. However, these changes have apparently not been enough to sweeten the deal for many, given the amount of money left over in the program.

At this point, people interested in getting a piece of the remaining $130 billion must apply before the end of today, said CNBC. Failing that, ailing small businesses do have other options, such as Economic Injury Disaster Loans or the Federal Reserve's Main Street credit facility, although the terms of these aid programs will likely be much less generous.