Congress is considering legislation to ease loan forgiveness for businesses that applied to the Paycheck Protection Program, but critics warn that the move could create more opportunities for fraud, Politico reports.
Sens. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., and Bob Menendez, D-N.J., have introduced a bill allowing the Small Business Administration to release a single-page form for employers to apply for forgiveness on loans of $150,000 or less, which quickly won the support of over 130 trade associations, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Restaurant Association, but raised concerns from watchdog groups about the lack of information on the program, specifically on the businesses that would receive loan forgiveness.
“We should see the names of these borrowers before we talk about automatic loan forgiveness,” said Liz Hempowicz, director of public policy at the Project on Government Oversight.
Rep. Katie Porter, D-Calif., told Politico that “Easing PPP loan forgiveness should not be on the table until Congress has the data we need to see whether this program is actually working to save jobs.”
She also noted that the Trump administration has refused to release information about the loans covered by the legislation, and has delayed releasing data on the program to Congress.
Porter, a member of the House committees on Financial Services and Oversight, added, “Thus, there is absolutely the potential for waste and fraud when awarding and later forgiving these loans — businesses that don’t need assistance receiving essentially free taxpayer money, but more importantly, our smallest, most vulnerable businesses being prevented from getting the help they need.”