Spanberger: Release list of small business loan recipients, PPP funding amounts received

Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., is fighting for answers for Central Virginia small businesses and pressing the administration to release important information about the implementation of the Paycheck Protection Program.

The deadline to return PPP loans without penalty was May 14. But according to recent reports, most public U.S. companies that have received PPP loan funding have not indicated that they will be returning these funds. To date, only $411 million has been returned out of a total of $1.32 billion received by public companies.

In a letter sent to U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Small Businesses Administration (SBA) Administrator Jovita Carranza, Spanberger called on the administration to release information about the recipients of PPP funding—including the amounts of funding they received, when their applications were approved, and when they received this information.

With this additional information, Spanberger is looking to establish greater accountability and make changes to the program in future iterations of PPP to make the program work for Main Street businesses. Additionally, Spanberger called for this list to be made available to Congress and the American public.

“Many of our smallest businesses have been unable to secure assistance, while there have been numerous reported cases of large companies quickly receiving funding. In light of this, it is imperative that the Small Business Administration and the Department of the Treasury allow Congress and the public to access information detailing the administration of the Paycheck Protection Program,” said Spanberger. “In particular, I request information detailing which organizations have been provided PPP funding, the amount of funding they received, when their applications were approved, and when they received their loans.

Spanberger’s letter builds on her work to bring greater transparency to federal small business loan assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic. Last week, she helped introduce the TRUTH Act, which would direct the SBA to explain and justify all disbursements of coronavirus relief funds.