Last night, Politico reported on how the Paycheck Protection Program’s (PPP) flawed implementation allowed well-connected corporations to access the program’s crucial taxpayer dollars while small businesses were boxed out, and how lawmakers are aiming to address these failures in PPP’s next phase.
Q2 2020 hedge fund letters, conferences and more
Expectations From PPP's Next Phase
Here are some key quotes from the experts on what we need to see from PPP going forward:
- Ashley Harrington, federal advocacy director at the Center for Responsible Lending: "The question is not just did [well-connected corporations] deserve the loans, did they need the loan... But they had access that other communities did not have. That's something we need to recognize and address when we think about what small business relief looks like going forward."
- Amanda Fischer, policy director at the Washington Center for Equitable Growth: “...some reporting showed that private equity portfolio firms gamed rules to gain access when they were otherwise prohibited. Hedge funds also received some PPP funds. This clearly was not the congressional intent."
- Lisa Gilbert, executive vice president of Public Citizen: "Big businesses that can keep people on the payroll without a PPP loan should not get one. The purpose of these taxpayer dollars going out the door was to ensure that entities that truly needed money to keep regular Americans employed received it.”
For more information on how the Trump administration has failed small businesses owned by people of color, please click HERE for a new op-ed, HERE for a fact sheet, and HERE for a memo.
Politico: Congress Wary On Future Aid As Well-connected Businesses Rake In Millions
The numerous anecdotes and controversies pouring out of the Paycheck Protection Program loan data are shaping lobbying efforts around the next economic relief package.
By ZACHARY WARMBRODT, June 7, 2020
The revelation that well-heeled businesses and nonprofits benefited from emergency small business loans is making it more likely that Congress will impose new limits on aid in its next rescue plan for employers and workers.
The Trump administration disclosed Monday that the recipients of the more than $521 billion in forgivable loans included top lobbying and law firms, private equity-backed restaurant chains like P.F. Chang’s, investment companies and even Kanye West’s clothing brand. Though $130 billion remains uncommitted under the so-called Paycheck Protection Program, it's rekindling long-running concerns about the degree to which businesses with ample sources of financing are getting government-backed support while smaller employers continue to struggle.
[Read the full article HERE.]
