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WASHINGTON, D.C. – An analysis from government watchdog group Accountable.US shows that nearly 130,000 recipients of Paycheck Protection Program loans were self-employed individuals with no employees and making over $100,000 annually — but still received $20,833 in PPP funding, the maximum amount allowed by the legislation. This is the same loan program that all but shut out business owners in communities of color from accessing funding and is now infamous for the avoidable millions lost in waste, fraud, and abuse. 

 

The PPP program was supposed to help hurting mom and pop shops keep their workers on payroll, so why did the Trump administration allow billions of dollars go to well-off people who haven't hired a soul? While so many black-owned small businesses were unable to access a penny from this program, 130,000 wealthy people walked off with a $20,000 forgivable taxpayer loan and no jobs to show for it. In the next pandemic relief bill, Congress must ensure aid is prioritized for those who actually need help, or even more small businesses will never return.” 

Kyle Herrig, president of Accountable.US

Accountable.US has been tracking the administration’s failure to get aid to those who need it most on its website, www.COVIDBailoutTracker.com, where the new SBA PPP data as well as all previously publicly released PPP data and additional CARES Act program spending is posted in a searchable format. The group will be analyzing the new data and releasing its findings on a rolling basis at the PPP Live Blog.   

While the PPP was intended to serve as a lifeline for businesses struggling to hang on through the ongoing economic crisis, the Trump administration’s flawed design and implementation of the program quickly led to the rich and powerful, big corporations, fraudsters and even hate groups running away with taxpayer support as many truly struggling small businesses — especially in communities of color — were unable to access a single dollar of aid.  

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