This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareThe Treasury Department announced Wednesday that it will loan $700 million to a trucking firm that ships military equipment, in exchange for having U.S. taxpayers acquire an almost 30 percent stake in the company.Under the unusual arrangement, the Treasury Department will provide the emergency loan to YRC Worldwide, while taking a 29.6 percent equity stake in the company. The U.S. government does not typically take ownership stakes in companies but was given permission to do so by Congress as a way to ensure taxpayer...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareThe Treasury Department announced Wednesday that it will loan $700 million to a trucking firm that ships military equipment, in exchange for having U.S. taxpayers acquire an almost 30 percent stake in the company.Under the unusual arrangement, the Treasury Department will provide the emergency loan to YRC Worldwide, while taking a 29.6 percent equity stake in the company. The U.S. government does not typically take ownership stakes in companies but was given permission to do so by Congress as a way to ensure taxpayer...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareTreasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin suggested Friday that the government should consider forgiving all taxpayer-backed small loans under the federal Paycheck Protection Program without verifying how the funds were used, a decision that could wipe away debt for millions of small businesses but would also substantially increase the risk of fraud.The Treasury Department and Small Business Administration are grappling with how to handle millions of applications for loan forgiveness, a process that includes verifying that most...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareTreasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin suggested Friday that the government should consider forgiving all taxpayer-backed small loans under the federal Paycheck Protection Program without verifying how the funds were used, a decision that could wipe away debt for millions of small businesses but would also substantially increase the risk of fraud.The Treasury Department and Small Business Administration are grappling with how to handle millions of applications for loan forgiveness, a process that includes verifying that most...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareConservative members of Congress and advocacy groups that ardently criticize excessive government spending were among those accepting small-business pandemic relief funds from the Treasury this year, according to data released Monday.Americans for Tax Reform Foundation, led by firebrand anti-tax advocate Grover Norquist, took a loan between $150,000 and $350,000 from the Paycheck Protection Program. The Ayn Rand Institute and Citizens against Government Waste likewise accepted loans funded by the program.Groups on the...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareConservative members of Congress and advocacy groups that ardently criticize excessive government spending were among those accepting small-business pandemic relief funds from the Treasury this year, according to data released Monday.Americans for Tax Reform Foundation, led by firebrand anti-tax advocate Grover Norquist, took a loan between $150,000 and $350,000 from the Paycheck Protection Program. The Ayn Rand Institute and Citizens against Government Waste likewise accepted loans funded by the program.Groups on the...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareAn emergency disaster lending program for small businesses has been so overwhelmed by demand that it has significantly limited the size of loans it issues, while blocking nearly all new applications from small businesses, according to people familiar with the situation.The Economic Injury Disaster Loan program is a long-standing Small Business Administration program that’s separate from the new Paycheck Protection Program, which has challenges of its own.Congress gave the disaster loan program more than $50 billion in new...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareAn emergency disaster lending program for small businesses has been so overwhelmed by demand that it has significantly limited the size of loans it issues, while blocking nearly all new applications from small businesses, according to people familiar with the situation.The Economic Injury Disaster Loan program is a long-standing Small Business Administration program that’s separate from the new Paycheck Protection Program, which has challenges of its own.Congress gave the disaster loan program more than $50 billion in new...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareThis article is free to access.Why?The Washington Post is providing this news free to all readers as a public service.Follow this story and more by Two of President Trump’s top economic advisers projected Sunday that unemployment will climb as the coronavirus pandemic continues its sweep across the United States, with one official predicting that the unemployment rate will jump to 20 percent by next month.The statements from White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin came three...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareThis article is free to access.Why?The Washington Post is providing this news free to all readers as a public service.Follow this story and more by Two of President Trump’s top economic advisers projected Sunday that unemployment will climb as the coronavirus pandemic continues its sweep across the United States, with one official predicting that the unemployment rate will jump to 20 percent by next month.The statements from White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin came three...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareAn emergency loan program intended to get money swiftly into the hands of small businesses has all but collapsed under an unprecedented crush of applications and a shortage of funds, overwhelming agency officials and prompting urgent calls for action on Capitol Hill.The Economic Injury Disaster Loan program, or EIDL, a long-standing program run by the Small Business Administration (SBA), is separate from the $349 billion Paycheck Protection Program for small businesses that is the subject of a on Capitol Hill.The federal...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareAn emergency loan program intended to get money swiftly into the hands of small businesses has all but collapsed under an unprecedented crush of applications and a shortage of funds, overwhelming agency officials and prompting urgent calls for action on Capitol Hill.The Economic Injury Disaster Loan program, or EIDL, a long-standing program run by the Small Business Administration (SBA), is separate from the $349 billion Paycheck Protection Program for small businesses that is the subject of a on Capitol Hill.The federal...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareA new lending program for small businesses maxed out Thursday morning and stopped accepting claims, but negotiations picked up between Democrats and the Trump administration to address that growing problem as the nation plunged into unemployment levels .The Small Business Administration said on its website that the agency “is unable to accept new applications … based on available appropriations funding.”The $350 billion Paycheck Protection Program was a central piece of the massive $2 trillion economic rescue law passed...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareA new lending program for small businesses maxed out Thursday morning and stopped accepting claims, but negotiations picked up between Democrats and the Trump administration to address that growing problem as the nation plunged into unemployment levels .The Small Business Administration said on its website that the agency “is unable to accept new applications … based on available appropriations funding.”The $350 billion Paycheck Protection Program was a central piece of the massive $2 trillion economic rescue law passed...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareThis spring, amid a panic over a shortage of ventilators to treat the anticipated surge in coronavirus cases, the Pentagon announced the purchase of $84 million worth of breathing machines from four companies. One of the ventilators, the SAVe II+, made by a small Plano, Tex.-based company called AutoMedx, stood out from the rest.To start, the deal was for an upgraded version of the SAVe II that hadn’t even been designed yet, according to the company’s chairman. In addition, the existing $6,000 SAVe II machine, developed...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareThis spring, amid a panic over a shortage of ventilators to treat the anticipated surge in coronavirus cases, the Pentagon announced the purchase of $84 million worth of breathing machines from four companies. One of the ventilators, the SAVe II+, made by a small Plano, Tex.-based company called AutoMedx, stood out from the rest.To start, the deal was for an upgraded version of the SAVe II that hadn’t even been designed yet, according to the company’s chairman. In addition, the existing $6,000 SAVe II machine, developed...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareMore than half of the money from the Treasury Department’s coronavirus emergency fund for small businesses went to just 5 percent of the recipients, according to data on more than 5 million loans that was released by the government Tuesday evening in response to a Freedom of Information Act request and lawsuit. on the government’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), about 600 mostly larger companies, including dozens of national chains, received the maximum amount allowed under the program of $10 million.Officials from the...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareMore than half of the money from the Treasury Department’s coronavirus emergency fund for small businesses went to just 5 percent of the recipients, according to data on more than 5 million loans that was released by the government Tuesday evening in response to a Freedom of Information Act request and lawsuit. on the government’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), about 600 mostly larger companies, including dozens of national chains, received the maximum amount allowed under the program of $10 million.Officials from the...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareHouse Democrats are opening an investigation into the Defense Department’s decision to divert hundreds of millions of dollars in funds meant to build up the country’s medical supplies to defense contractors instead.The investigation comes after The Washington Post reported last week that the Pentagon began funneling the funds to private companies building military supplies shortly after Congress set aside the money in the $2 trillion Cares Act in March.Democratic Reps. James E. Clyburn (S.C.), Maxine Waters (Calif.),...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareHouse Democrats are opening an investigation into the Defense Department’s decision to divert hundreds of millions of dollars in funds meant to build up the country’s medical supplies to defense contractors instead.The investigation comes after The Washington Post reported last week that the Pentagon began funneling the funds to private companies building military supplies shortly after Congress set aside the money in the $2 trillion Cares Act in March.Democratic Reps. James E. Clyburn (S.C.), Maxine Waters (Calif.),...WW…