On Monday, a Florida congressman wrote U.S. Treasury Sec. Steve Mnuchin, calling on him to return money to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) which was handed out to big businesses.
U.S. Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., called on Mnuchin to make sure the PPP funds, which were supposed to be used to support small businesses during the coronavirus pandemic, are not used to help large revenue corporations.
“The Paycheck Protection Program is vital to the continuation of many small businesses across the country,” Steube said. “Corporations with alternative financing mechanisms took the loans first, and as a result, honest businesses are having to shut their doors. They should return this money and the federal government should create guidance to prevent this from happening again.”
“The Paycheck Protection Program’s intention is to provide relief for small businesses in response to the COVID-19 economic shutdown. Without this funding, many small businesses would be forced to close their doors. After only 13 days, this vital program ran out of funding. Concerns about the whereabouts were raised after reports that large revenue corporations were taking advantage of this aid intended for small businesses,” Steube’s office noted.
“The Paycheck Protection Program received over $321.335 billion in additional funding with the recent passage of the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act,” the congressman’s office added.
Reach Kevin Derby at kevin.derby@floridadaily.com.
