Members of Congress took small-business loans -- and the full extent is unknown

[babylonsister]

Low even for them.


Members of Congress took small-business loans — and the full extent is unknown
Some GOP lawmakers who benefited from the Paycheck Protection Program also opposed legislation requiring lending transparency.
By SARAH FERRIS, MELANIE ZANONA and ZACHARY WARMBRODT
06/16/2020 04:30 AM EDT


At least four members of Congress have reaped benefits in some way from the half-trillion-dollar small-business loan program they helped create.

And no one knows how many more there could be.

It’s a bipartisan group of lawmakers who have acknowledged close ties to companies that have received loans from the program — businesses that are either run by their families or employ their spouse as a senior executive.

Republicans on the list include Rep. Roger Williams of Texas, a wealthy businessman who owns auto dealerships, body shops and car washes, and Rep. Vicky Hartzler of Missouri, whose family owns multiple farms and equipment suppliers across the Midwest. The Democrats count Rep. Susie Lee of Nevada, whose husband is CEO of a regional casino developer, and Rep. Debbie Mucarsel Powell of Florida, whose husband is a senior executive at a restaurant chain that has since returned the loan.

And there are almost certainly more, according to aides and lawmakers. But only the Small Business Administration and Treasury Department have that information, and the Trump administration is refusing to provide any details. That leaves it entirely up to business owners — including elected officials — to decide whether to come forward about a loan, which can be as large as $10 million.

Democrats have tried to pry free the list of recipients. But their push in the House to require disclosure of at least some companies was blocked on the floor late last month by Republicans — including Williams and Hartzler, who voted against the bill. Lee and Powell joined all Democrats in supporting it. All four lawmakers have previously voted in favor of the small-business program.

“This is the largest distributor of taxpayer money in human history, and we need to ensure taxpayers know where it’s going,” the author of that bill, Rep. Dean Phillips, said in an interview. The Minnesota Democrat added that his bill “was not written to expose members of Congress, because frankly I expected members of Congress to be forthright and transparent to begin with.”

more...

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/06/16/congress-small-business-loan-320625

[Faux pas]

1. Kickin' with disgust

[Hoyt]

2. Truthfully, if the companies meet the requirements of keeping employees on payroll, I'm fine with

them getting the PPP benefit just like any other company. If they don't meet the requirements, they'll have to pay it back as the law was written.

[babylonsister]

3. The opposition to transparency is irksome.

What are they hiding?

[spanone]

4. you can bet the trump 'family business' took them too....

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

5. Foxes in the henhouse again.

[efhmc]

6. Wrote this on twitter and found the info here.

What do you want to bet that Roger Williams' (Tx. 25) car dealership is a recipient? Wonder how we can get this info?