US Senator Chuck Schumer speaks at media briefing with mayor Bill de Blasio on first death related to COVID-19 outbreak in New York CIty at City Hall.

Congress is hashing out the terms for the next package of federal loans for small businesses, even as millions of entrepreneurs still have no idea whether help is on the way.

The Paycheck Protection Program, a $349 billion federal forgivable loan measure, ran out of money last Thursday just two weeks after starting.

While the initial round of PPP funding was supposed to be granted on a first-come, first-served basis, even early birds missed out on the cash they desperately needed.

"I've still heard nothing from Chase," said Christina Dorando, founder of Cresthill Academy in Hoboken, New Jersey.

More from Personal Finance:

Resist the siren call of cashing out your 401(k)

Get the best of both stocks and bonds

Can't keep up with insurance premiums?

She applied for the paycheck loan through JP Morgan Chase when the window opened on April 3 and, more than two weeks later, she still has no idea whether the funding is on its way.

Cresthill, which has five locations in New Jersey, had 96 employees prior to shutting down in mid-March as the coronavirus spread through the Garden State. Today, it's down to a skeleton crew of 14 employees, whom Dorando is paying from personal savings.

The daycare didn't charge clients tuition for April, so Dorando has had to create other streams of income, including sales of activity kits for toddlers and prepared meals, to help the business manage.