Letter to the Hon. Steven Mnuchin, Secretary of the Treasury and the Hon. Jovita Carranza, Administrator of the Small Business Administration - Following the Trump Administration's Refusal to Release Names of PPP Loan Recipients, Neal, Waters, Velázquez Demand Transparency: "Taxpayers Have a Right to Know How Their Money Was Spent"

Letter

Dear Secretary Mnuchin and Administrator Carranza,
We write today regarding the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) authorized under the
Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. In particular, we are troubled by
your recent decision not to release the names of companies that received billions of dollars through
the PPP.
As you know, Congress authorized the PPP in order to provide critically-needed financial
assistance to small businesses struggling to stay afloat during the coronavirus pandemic. However,
shortly after enactment of the CARES Act, there were reports that larger, profitable businesses
were receiving PPP loans while many small, needy businesses could not secure a loan. Many
Americans were rightfully concerned about this troubling news.
Congress has a responsibility to conduct oversight of this $659 billion program, and
taxpayers have a right to know how their money was spent. Transparency is critical to ensure the
program is operating as intended, especially in light of the concerning reports described above.
The Department of the Treasury (Treasury) and the Small Business Administration (SBA) have a
duty to the American people to release detailed information on how hundreds of billions of tax
dollars were allocated. Indeed, PPP loan applications specified that this information would be
released "automatically."
Given our shared responsibility to safeguard taxpayer dollars, we disagree with the decision
to not release the names of businesses that received PPP loans. At a minimum, we owe the
American people that information. Furthermore, we are deeply concerned that Treasury and SBA
have yet to share this information with the Government Accountability Office, which is required
to report to Congress on the CARES Act by the end of this month. As the pandemic continues to
cause financial hardship for countless small businesses, we must understand whether this program
is functioning as intended and determine how best to help businesses going forward.
Accordingly, please provide the following information by no later than June 19, 2020:
(1) the names of all recipients of PPP loans; (2) for each recipient, the dollar amount of all loans
received; and (3) the names of all applicants for PPP loans that did not receive a loan.
Thank you, in advance, for your prompt attention to this matter.