Trump Admin. Refuses to Disclose Corporate Recipients of $500 Billion in Coronavirus Bailout Funds

[Judi Lynn]

Published on
Thursday, June 11, 2020
by
Common Dreams

'Speaking of Looting...': Trump Admin. Refuses to Disclose Corporate Recipients of $500 Billion in Coronavirus Bailout Funds
"This is outrageous AND exactly what was obviously going to happen AND exactly why many of us opposed CARES as written."

byJessica Corbett, staff writer

Progressive critics and advocacy groups are responding with alarm and anger to the Trump administration's refusal to disclose the names of more than 4.5 million companies that have collectively received over $500 billion in corporate bailout money through a federal program created to provide businesses with relief from the coronavirus pandemic.

The over $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act signed by President Donald Trump in March established the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) with $349 billion in funding for forgivable loans. After the initial capital ran out in just 13 days, lawmakers approved $310 billion more—though over $130 billion of that amount was still left as of Tuesday.

Although, as the Washington Post reported, the Small Business Administration (SBA) "typically discloses names of borrowers from the loan program" on which the PPP is based, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin testified to the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship that he won't be following that model for the Covid-19 program, despite concerns about which companies are benefiting from it.

As Mnuchin told the Senate committee Wednesday: "We believe that that's proprietary information, and in many cases for sole proprietors and small businesses, it is confidential information." The secretary's comments provoked a barrage of condemnation, particularly among individuals and groups that had previously expressed concern about the PPP.

More:
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/06/11/speaking-looting-trump-admin-refuses-disclose-corporate-recipients-500-billion

[leftieNanner]

1. What a huge surprise!!

Has Steve (he hates to be called Steve) Mnuchin done anything (ahem) indictable yet?

I'd love to see his ugly face behind bars too.

[soothsayer]

2. Oversight? We don't need no stinking oversight

[safeinOhio]

3. Confidential information on

who Is stealing our tax dollars. If they want to keep their company name private, return the money.

[allnews]

4. We should ALL be marching for ALL of it!

How blatant their thievery has become and continues to get worse every day!