More: Shake Shack plans to send back $10 million coronavirus loanįriday, Democratic members of the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis sent letters to several publicly traded firms on the list that received at least $10 million, asking them to return the money "immediately" or produce copies of all the records and communication related to their loan application. Large restaurant chains and other hospitality-related businesses were able to access the program – and receive multiple loans – because of an 11th-hour provision included in the coronavirus rescue package that allows loans to certain businesses that may have more than 500 employees but not at any one specific location. Otherwise, it carries a 1% interest rate and must be repaid within two years. Companies apply for the money through banks and other lenders that certify the loans, which are underwritten by the Small Business Administration.ĭesigned to cover eight weeks of expenses such as payroll and rent, the loans do not have to be paid back if at least 75% of the money is spent keeping or rehiring workers. The program offers firms employing 500 or fewer workers low-interest loans of up to $10 million to cover their pandemic-related costs. Congress has since replenished the program although it is running out of money again.īoth Shake Shack and the Lakers returned the money. The money public companies accessed represents a fraction of the roughly $650 billion Congress allocated to the program.īut there has been bipartisan outrage after news reports last month that a number of prominent entities, such as the Shake Shack restaurant chain and the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers, got loans while much smaller mom-and-pop stores were shut out of the popular program when it ran out of money last month. There's no known evidence any of the companies violated the rules of the PPP, which approved more than $500 billion in loans during the past five weeks. economy.Ĭonfused by the US government's small-business loan program? You're not alone. Several large hotel groups and restaurant chains each obtained loans above the $10 million maximum level because they filed more than one application, which is allowable under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act that Congress passed in March to rescue the plummeting U.S. The list of those public businesses that accessed Paycheck Protection Program money includes construction firms, tech companies and pharmaceutical corporations, according to the analytics firm FactSquared. WASHINGTON – Nearly 400 publicly traded companies received almost $1.3 billion in federal forgivable loans meant for small businesses desperately trying to survive the coronavirus crisis, an independent analysis of financial record filings found. Air quality alerts were in effect in 14 states on Tuesday.Watch Video: Coronavirus: How much businesses and hospitals will get from stimulus Smoke from the fires is blanketing the East and Midwest, causing concerns for residents' health. are grappling with poor air quality as Canadian wildfires continue to burn. Firefighters are concerned that the combination of dry vegetation and the heat wave could spark dangerous wildfires, posing further threats to the state. The heat wave is shifting California's trajectory for fire season, which started slowly due to a record snowpack. Crews have been tirelessly navigating challenging terrain to contain the Lodoga Fire in Northern California, believed to have been sparked by lightning. "I cry all the time, I like yell at the heat to like go away," said Cristina Hill, an unhoused woman.Īmid the heat, California firefighters are battling brush fires around the clock. At least 12 deaths in Maricopa County this year have been attributed to extreme heat, with the most vulnerable, including those without housing, being the hardest hit.
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