The Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, called on Federal Reserve on Tuesday to allow non-profit groups including colleges and universities access to a lending facility intended to help businesses cope with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pelosi said larger institutions, including those that serve minorities, are being left out of the Fed's $600 billion Main Street Lending Facility. The same groups cannot also benefit from the Treasury Department's $349 billion Paycheck Protection Program to help businesses with fewer than 500 workers.

"Unfortunately, the administration and the Fed, as of today, are excluding nonprofits," Pelosi said in a message to Democratic lawmakers. "This is a significant blow in particular to entities that are also ineligible for the Paycheck Protection Program."

Pelosi's message underscored Democratic opposition to a Senate Republican proposal seeking to add another $250 billion in financing for small businesses. She said it would "only perpetuate the flaws that are threatening the survival of the most vulnerable small businesses and would do nothing to aid desperate hospitals and state and local governments."