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RandySF

(57,632 posts)
Sat Jul 11, 2020, 12:21 AM Jul 2020

TX-31: Campaign received $28,000 loan designed for small businesses struggling during t

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The political committee of Dr. Christine Mann, a candidate in the Democratic primary runoff for Texas’ 31st Congressional District, received a $28,000 loan through a federal program designed to help struggling small businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Christine Mann for Congress received a $28,000 loan from First Bank Texas on May 5, according to pre-runoff campaign finance reports filed with the Federal Election Commission. The line item is labeled “Payment Protection Program,” though the program through the Small Business Administration is called the “Paycheck Protection Program.”

On its website, the Small Business Administration says the PPP loan “helps businesses keep their workforce employed during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis.” Funding for the program was drained in the first weeks after its launch but an additional appropriation by Congress has left $132 billion unclaimed, according to the U.S. Treasury Department.
The filing deadline for PPP has been extended until Aug. 8.

“As a grassroots campaign and like many other small businesses, we were hit financially during the pandemic,” a spokesperson for Mann’s campaign said. “As a front-line doctor testing patients during COVID-19, Dr. Mann did not fundraise the ways she had previously but wanted to ensure her staff continued to receive a livable wage.”

Mann’s campaign said accountants and the FEC were consulted about the PPP loan, with no objections. The loan was paid back by the campaign the following month.



https://www.kxan.com/news/texas-politics/texas-congressional-campaign-received-28000-loan-designed-for-small-businesses-struggling-during-the-pandemic/

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