Tag: PPP

Senate clears PPP bill, extending loan applications through May

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Passage follows rejection of GOP amendments

The Senate voted 92-7 Thursday to extend the Paycheck Protection Program to the end of May after rejecting two Republican amendments and waiving a budget point of order.

The vote cleared the measure that would extend the program, now due to expire on March 31. The House passed the bill 415-3 earlier this month. It next heads to President Joe Biden for his signature. 

The popular program has issued 7.5 million loans totaling $687 billion to small businesses during the last year, according to data from the Small Business Administration. The bill would also allow the agency an extra month to process applications after the program closes. Continue reading.

More than half of emergency small-business funds went to larger businesses, new data shows

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The Trump administration has emphasized PPP loans to small firms, but most of the $522 billion went to a tiny slice of borrowers

More than half of the money from the Treasury Department’s coronavirus emergency fund for small businesses went to just 5 percent of the recipients, according to data on more than 5 million loans that was released by the government Tuesday evening in response to a Freedom of Information Act request and lawsuit.

According to data on the government’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), about 600 mostly larger companies, including dozens of national chains, received the maximum amount allowed under the program of $10 million.

Officials from the Treasury Department and the Small Business Administration (SBA) have argued the program primarily benefited smaller businesses because a vast majority of the loans ― more than 87 percent ― were for less than $150,000, as of August. But the new data shows more than half of the $522 billion in the same time frame went to bigger businesses, and only 28 percent of the money was distributed in amounts less than $150,000. Continue reading.

Small businesses that took PPP aid may face a tax problem

A recent IRS ruling tying up a loose end in the 2020 economic-relief law could force many small businesses to pay taxes on government aid meant to help through the pandemic.

The agency on Nov. 18 said the businesses cannot deduct expenses such as payroll and rent, paid for with money from the Paycheck Protection Program of the CARES Act. Such deductions are common when those expenses are paid for with revenue from running a business.

The ruling hardened a divide between the Trump administration and the main tax writers in Congress, who have sought since the corona­virus outbreak produced an economic slowdown to ensure that aid to businesses not be taxed. Continue reading.

Trump Appointees Let Aviation Firms Keep Money That Was Supposed To Assist Workers

This spring, as the coronavirus spread and international travel bans grounded flights, Gebrish Weldemariam got a layoff letter from his airline catering job at Dulles International Airport.

He’d been working as a driver making more than $18 per hour for Flying Food Group, ferrying in-flight meals between the company’s kitchen and gated planes waiting on the tarmac. Between overtime at the airport and a part-time job driving buses on the side, Weldemariam felt that times were good. Last fall, with his wife expecting a fourth child, the family bought a house not far from the airport, allowing him to be nearby to help care for his oldest son, who has Down syndrome and needs constant attention.

“I have kids. I have a mortgage. I have two car loans,” Weldemariam said. “That’s why I work hard.” Continue reading.

The End Of $600 Unemployment Benefits Will Hit Millions Of Households And The Economy

For Lorena Schneehagen, the additional $600 unemployment payment each week during the coronavirus pandemic has held her family’s expenses together.

She’s an out-of-work preschool teacher in Ann Arbor, Mich., whose son is about to start college.

“I need that to help pay his tuition,” Schneehagen said. “And for food and just to pay the general bills.” Continue reading.

McConnell says next COVID-19 relief bill will include stimulus checks

The Hill logoSenate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Tuesday that Republicans want to include a second round of stimulus checks and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funding as part of their forthcoming coronavirus proposal.

“Speaking of building on what worked in the CARES Act, we want another round of direct payments, direct payments to help American families keep driving our national comeback,” McConnell said from the Senate floor.

The March $2.2 trillion coronavirus package included a one-time $1,200 payment for Americans who make up to $75,000 per year. The amount of the direct payment was scaled down until it hit an income level of $99,000 per year where it was phased out altogether. Continue reading.

The airline bailout loophole: Three companies received $338 million in relief money for workers — and laid workers off anyway

AlterNet logoThree airline industry companies slated to receive $338 million in public money designed to preserve jobs in the hard-hit industry have laid off thousands of workers anyway, according to Treasury disclosure filings and public layoff data.

The largest company, Gate Gourmet, is a global preparer of airline meals and part of a Swiss conglomerate owned by the private equity firm of wealthy Malaysian businessman Richard Ong. Gate Gourmet is scheduled to get $171 million from the federal program to bail out the airline industry even after it reported laying off thousands of workers at airports in half a dozen states, including California, Georgia, New York and Illinois, in recent months, according to public filings. The exact number of workers who lost their jobs is not clear.

“These grants are meant to save jobs and only to save jobs,” said Rep. Katie Porter, D-CA, who has supported the aid program for aviation workers. Every payment Treasury makes “despite clear indications that the recipient company is firing workers or cutting hours is an abuse of the program and taxpayer money.” Continue reading.

Q&A: How Dean Phillips Tried To Fix PPP

A conversation about the precarious state of our economy and society with Minnesota’s most business savvy member of Congress.

Dean Phillips was elected to Congress representing Minnesota’s Third District less than two years ago. The consensus-focused businessman and philanthropic leader gained national attention in recent weeks when he co-authored the Paycheck Protection Flexibility Act, designed to fix problems in Congress’ Paycheck Protection Act which made it impossible for many small businesses to access. Few members of Congress are as keenly aware of the risks and opportunities in a pandemic economy as Phillips. TCB spoke to him about that and other issues from a conference room at the back of the Linden Hills location of Penny’s, the small coffee shop chain he co-founded in 2016.

Was it possible for a country of our size and geographic and ideological diversity to develop consensus on the pandemic, or was it a pipe dream?

We could have done it better and plans were in place to do it better. Something as simple as mask-wearing, that science indicates stops the spread . . . one person and one person only is responsible for the national division on masks, and that’s the president. It has political elements and the GOP tends to follow his lead. Conversely had he worn a mask, I think transmission would have been exponentially less. There’s no question that more thoughtful leadership would have resulted in better management and better preparation. The world is looking at us with dismay. Continue reading.

Trump-connected lobbyists reap windfall in federal virus aid

WASHINGTON — Forty lobbyists with ties to President Donald Trump helped clients secure more than $10 billion in federal coronavirus aid, among them five former administration officials whose work potentially violates Trump’s own ethics policy, according to a report.

The lobbyists identified Monday by the watchdog group Public Citizen either worked in the Trump executive branch, served on his campaign, were part of the committee that raised money for inaugural festivities or were part of his presidential transition. Many are donors to Trump’s campaigns, and some are prolific fundraisers for his reelection.

They include Brian Ballard, who served on the transition, is the finance chair for the Republican National Committee and has bundled more than $1 million for Trump’s fundraising committees. He was hired in March by Laundrylux, a supplier of commercial laundry machines, after the Department of Homeland Security issued guidance that didn’t include laundromats as essential businesses that could stay open during the lockdown. A week later, the administration issued new guidance adding laundromats to the list. Continue reading.

Minnesota employers got $10.2 billion in emergency pandemic aid

132 employers in Minnesota, from private schools and law firms to restaurants, received at least $5 million.

From car dealers to construction companies, Minnesota employers hauled in $10.2 billion through the popular Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), ranking the state No. 15 in the U.S., according to data released Monday by the U.S. Small Business Administration.

The program, which is credited with lowering unemployment this spring, helped employers bring back more than 51 million jobs in the U.S. at a time when the economy was crashing. But many employers have been critical of the program, especially retailers and restaurant owners, who say the government essentially pressured them into rehiring furloughed workers at a time when they were still shut down and unable to generate much if any revenue.

Congress has now agreed to extend the program, which was due to expire on June 30, until Aug. 8 to allow business owners a chance to apply for more than $130 billion in remaining funds. Altogether, 4.9 million employers have received a total of $521 billion in relief through the program.

The loans are forgivable as long as employers spend at least 60% of the funds on payroll, down from 75% in the original bill. The formula was changed through bipartisan legislation co-sponsored by U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn. Continue reading.