Tag: Trump Treasury Department

Trump Administration Quietly Eased Sanctions on Israeli Billionaire

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The reversal by the Treasury Department during the administration’s final days came after an appeal by lobbyists with close ties to the former president.

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration quietly moved in its final days to ease sanctions imposed in late 2017 on an Israeli billionaire who had been punished by the Treasury Department for corrupt and abusive mining practices in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The reversal by the Treasury came after an appeal by lobbyistswith close ties to former President Donald J. Trump who were hired by Dan Gertler, the Israeli billionaire, including the lawyer Alan M. Dershowitz, who helped represent Mr. Trump during his first impeachment, and Louis J. Freeh, a former F.B.I. director.

Mr. Gertler was accused in 2017 by the Trump-era Treasury Department of using his connections to the former Congolese president, Joseph Kabila, to arrange “opaque and corrupt mining and oil deals” that cost the citizens of Congo more than a billion dollars in lost revenue. 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.

Millionaire Treasury secretary uses debunked GOP talking point to justify slashing $600 unemployment insurance

AlterNet logoTreasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin on Sunday recycled a debunked right-wing talking point to justify the GOP’s proposal to cut by more than half the $600-per-week federal boost in unemployment benefits that expired at the end of last week, depriving around 30 million Americans of a key economic lifeline as joblessness remains at historic levels.

In an appearance on ABC‘s “This Week,” Mnuchin claimed “there’s no question” that the $600 weekly boost in unemployment insurance (UI) created a disincentive to work.

When host Martha Raddatz pointed to a recent Yale study that found “no evidence that more generous benefits disincentivized work,” Mnuchin responded, “I went to Yale, I agree on certain things, I don’t always agree.” Continue reading.

Mnuchin says GOP has ‘fundamental’ deal on $1T coronavirus relief package

The Hill logoThe White House and Senate Republicans on Thursday reached a “fundamental agreement” on a coronavirus package, according to a top negotiator.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin — after a meeting with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows — said staff were now trying to finalize text of the agreement, which is expected to be released as a group of bills instead of one piece of legislation.

“We just had a very productive discussion with the leader. We do have a fundamental agreement between the White House and the Republicans in the Senate,” Mnuchin told reporters. Continue reading.

Mnuchin suggests Treasury, SBA should forgo verifying how small business loans were spent

Washington Post logoLawmakers question Trump administration officials over handling of $600 billion Cares Act lending program

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin suggested Friday that the government should consider forgiving all taxpayer-backed small loans under the federal Paycheck Protection Program without verifying how the funds were used, a decision that could wipe away debt for millions of small businesses but would also substantially increase the risk of fraud.

The Treasury Department and Small Business Administration are grappling with how to handle millions of applications for loan forgiveness, a process that includes verifying that most of the funds were actually used to pay employees as required under the Cares Act. But Mnuchin seemed to suggest during a congressional hearing Friday that a case-by-case approval process should be waived entirely for loans below a certain threshold.

“One of the things we’ll talk about is should we just have forgiveness for all the small loans … I think that’s something we should consider,” Mnuchin said when asked by Rep. Steve Chabot (R-Ohio) how the process might be simplified. Continue reading.

Treasury, SBA data show small-business loans went to private-equity backed chains, members of Congress

Washington Post logoAlmost 90,000 employers also appear to have received money despite not saying how many jobs they would save

As part of its $660 billion small-business relief program, the SBA also handed out loans to private schools catering to elite clientele, firms owned by foreign companies and large chains backed by well-heeled Wall Street firms. Nearly 90,000 companies in the program took the aid without promising on their applications they would rehire workers or create jobs.

The data, which was released after weeks of pressure from media outlets and lawmakers, paints a picture of a haphazard first-come, first-served program that was not designed to evaluate the relative need of the recipients. While it buttressed a swath of industries and entities, including restaurants, medical offices, car dealerships, law firms and nonprofits, the agency did not filter out companies that have potential conflicts of interest among influential Washington figures. Continue reading.

Treasury sent more than 1 million coronavirus stimulus payments to dead people, congressional watchdog finds

Washington Post logoThe checks sent to dead people as of April 30 totaled nearly $1.4 billion, according to the Government Accountability Office

The federal government sent coronavirus stimulus payments to almost 1.1 million dead people totaling nearly $1.4 billion, Congress’s independent watchdog reported Thursday.

The Washington Post previously reported that the Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service disbursed some payments of up to $1,200 each to dead people. But the astonishing scope of the problem had not been known.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office, an independent investigative agency that reports to Congress, issued the finding as part of a comprehensive report on the nearly $3 trillion in coronavirus relief spending approved by Congress in March and April. It said it had received the information from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration in an accounting as of April 30. Continue reading.

Inspectors general ask Congress for help in monitoring coronavirus relief payments

The federal watchdogs complained in a letter that the Trump administration was limiting their oversight ability.

In a two-page letter to several House and Senate committees last week, but disclosed for the first time on Monday, the inspectors general responsible for coronavirus relief oversight said an “ambiguity” in the main coronavirus response law — the CARES Act — allowed administration officials to sharply limit how much of the law’s spending requirements they must collect and report. This narrow interpretation of the law, the inspectors general warn, would dramatically impede their ability to gather information about some of the most expansive programs in the law, from the $670 billion Paycheck Protection Program to the $454 billion Treasury fund to protect businesses and industries damaged by the outbreak.

The legal opinions are the latest squeeze put on inspectors general by the Trump administration, which has gradually chipped away at the ability of internal watchdogs to monitor aspects of the administration’s conduct independently. The letter from the inspectors general, first revealed by The Washington Post, was signed by the Justice Department inspector general, Michael Horowitz, who leads a panel of inspectors general charged with coronavirus-related oversight known as the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, and its executive director, Robert Westbrooks. Continue reading.

Mnuchin secrecy on bailout sparks rift with Congress

The Treasury secretary’s refusal has created a new flashpoint in Congress’ oversight of the Trump administration’s use of coronavirus bailout funds.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is facing criticism from lawmakers and watchdog groups after refusing to disclose the businesses that received more than $500 billion in government-backed emergency loans

Mnuchin ignited controversy on Wednesday when he said the Trump administration will not reveal the names of companies and nonprofits that got the so-called Paycheck Protection Program loans, which are guaranteed by the taxpayer and can be forgiven in full if borrowers maintain their payrolls.

Mnuchin said the names and specific loan amounts were “proprietary” and “confidential,” but that came as a shock after officials had indicated earlier that the information would be subject to public scrutiny. The Small Business Administration warns borrowers in the program’s loan application that their names and loan values will be released under Freedom of Information Act requests. POLITICO has sought the information under FOIA, and several other news outlets are suing the government to obtain it. Continue reading.

Mnuchin sees ‘strong likelihood’ of needing another COVID-19 relief bill

The Hill logoTreasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Thursday said there is a “strong likelihood” that another coronavirus relief bill will be needed as more states start to reopen and the economy struggles to stabilize.

“We’re going to carefully review the next few weeks,” Mnuchin said in aninterview with The Hill’s Bob Cusack during a virtual event. “I think there is a strong likelihood we will need another bill, but we just have $3 trillion we’re pumping into the economy.”

“We’re going to step back for a few weeks and think very clearly how we need to spend more money and if we need to do that,” he added. Continue reading.