Davids, Kim to Introduce Bill Requiring Transparency on Small Business Loan Recipients

After calling for the release of the list of businesses that have received emergency small business loans through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), Representatives Sharice Davids (KS-03) and Andy Kim (NJ-03) are introducing a bill to require the Small Business Administration to make that information public. Davids and Kim are both members of the House Small Business Committee.

Congress has allocated nearly $700 billion in taxpayer money to help small businesses pay their workers and stay afloat through the PPP. But several reports of large, publicly traded companies receiving these loans ahead of deserving and suffering small businesses have surfaced. Some have even already borrowed funding from their own executives.

"There is no reason why Kansas small business owners should be struggling to access relief loan programs while large corporations with deep pockets have no problem. We should be requiring the SBA to be transparent and make information on businesses receiving these funds public, so Congress can conduct proper oversight and ensure these loan programs reach smaller and less advantaged businesses. Companies that can't withstand public scrutiny of their businesses dealings while receiving federal taxpayer-funded loans shouldn't be receiving them at all," said Davids.

"We all know that the SBA's efforts to help small businesses has been broken, and we won't be able to fix it until we have enough transparency to see how deep the problems go. This is an important step in making sure the hundreds of billions meant to help keep our small businesses afloat and people in their jobs do just that, instead of enriching publicly traded companies who don't need the help. I look forward to working with Congresswoman Davids to get the job done for our small business owners," said Kim.

The bill will require SBA to publish information on any businesses that receive loans over $1 million, including recipient name, business type, and amount of the loan. It will also require them to publish how much of that loan is forgiven, once that determination is made. More than 20,000 loans for over $1 million have been made so far through the Paycheck Protection Program.