Three Facts on the Paycheck Protection Program You Need to Know

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Today at the White House, President Trump will hold an event touting the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). While the program was supposed to provide relief to small businesses, the Trump administration has provided billions to the well-connected or big corporations. Here are three key facts to know:

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FACT: PPP Funds Went to Big Corporations with Access to Capital and Paid their Executives At Least $1 Million

200 Publicly Traded Companies Received $800 Million. “Last week, the Treasury Department emphasized existing guidance that companies need to certify they really need the loans to survive, bringing fresh scrutiny to the over 200 publicly traded companies that have so far disclosed receiving a total of $800 million in small business funding.” [NBC News, 4/27/20]

A.US Action: 160 Publicly Traded Companies that Received PPP Funds Paid Executives At Least $1 Million. Accountable.Us Action has identified 160 publicly traded companies that paid their executives at least $1 million and received PPP taxpayer funds. [TrumpBailouts.org, accessed 4/28/20]

A.US Action: 31 Publicly Traded Companies with More than 500 Employees Received $252 Million in PPP Funds. Accountable.US Action has identified 31 publicly traded companies with more than 500 employees that have received $252 million in PPP taxpayer funds. [TrumpBailouts.org, accessed 4/28/20]

NYT: Dozen Publicly Traded Companies Received PPP Funds After Saying They Had Access to Capital. “The New York Times identified roughly a dozen publicly traded companies that had recently boasted about their access to ample capital — and then applied for and received millions of dollars in the federal loans.” [New York Times, 4/26/20]

FACT: PPP Funds Are Not Getting to Small Businesses that Need it Most

15 Percent of Companies in the Most Affected Congressional Districts Got Funding Compared to 30 Percent of Companies in the Least Affected Congressional Districts. Researchers from MIT and the University of Chicago found “that approximately 15% percent of businesses located in the most affected congressional districts were able to obtain PPP funding until April15th, 2020. By contrast, more than 30% of all businesses operating in the least affected con-gressional districts were able to tap into PPP funding.” [National Bureau of Economic Research, April 2020]

Loans for $1 Million Accounted for 4 Percent of First Round of PPP Applications but 45 Percent of Approved Dollars. “Loans for more than $1 million accounted for about 4% of applications but nearly 45% of approved dollars under the program, according to SBA data released Friday. That suggests larger companies received a disproportionate share of aid.” [Wall Street Journal, 4/20/20]

FACT: PPP Funds Went to Well-Connected Companies with Ties to the Trump Administration

Wall Street Journal: PPP Funds “Came Down to How and Where [Companies] Banked.” “The small businesses that received aid under the federal government’s $350 billion rescue program weren’t always the ones with the greatest needs or the best chances to survive the coronavirus pandemic. Whether a firm made the cut often came down to how and where it banked.” [Wall Street Journal, 4/20/20]

Banks Prioritized Wealthiest Clients for PPP Funds, Giving Them “Concierge” Treatment.  [New York Times, 4/22/20]

Forbes: PPP Funds “Went to Those with the Best Relationships - Not the Neediest or Most Deserving.[Forbes, 4/20/20]

More Headlines

Hotel Conglomerate Owned by Trump Donor Monty Bennett Received Millions in PPP Funds After Pressuring the Treasury Department and Has No Plans to Return Them.  [Business Insider, 4/26/20]

Company Owned by Family of Trump Campaign Fundraiser Now-Ambassador to Belgium Received $5.5. Million. [NPR, 4/20/20]

Hallador Energy, A Coal Company that Hired Former Trump EPA Administrator and Whose Former Government Relations Director Now Works in the Trump Energy Department, Received $10 Million in PPP Funds.  [Washington Post, 4/21/20]


Accountable.US is a nonpartisan watchdog group that exposes corruption across all levels of government.