WASHINGTON, D.C. An op-ed in today’s Wall Street Journal from Trump Treasury officials Michael Faulkender and Stephen Miran that hails the SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program as a “success” and calls for a clean reauthorization of the program is riddled with deceptive or downright false claims, an analysis from government watchdog Accountable.US found. Since its implementation, Accountable.US has documented how the Trump administration’s poor design and management of the program and lack of transparency led to rampant waste, fraud and abuse, gross inefficiency, and the prioritization of the rich and powerful over hundreds of thousands of truly struggling mom and pop stores that were allowed to go under, especially in communities of color. 

It’s true that small businesses need a lot more help in the Trump recession, but reviving the PPP without fixing any of its flaws is a recipe for the further neglect of communities that need help the most, while the rich and powerful continue to get ahead.”

Kyle Herrig, president of Accountable.US

RHETORIC: Trump Treasury Officials Claimed The PPP Helped Save Over 51 Million Jobs 

  • REALITY: An MIT Study Found PPP Saved Only 3.2 Million Jobs And A National Bureau of Economic Research Study Found The Program “Did Not Restore The Vast Majority Of Jobs.” 

RHETORIC: PPP Helped Prevent 25% Unemployment Rates 

  • REALITY: Secretary Mnuchin Himself Admitted The Rate Could Have Been As High As 25% During May 2020 And One Group Founded By A Former Financial Regulator Pegged The True Rate At Nearly 26% As Recently As November 2020. 

RHETORIC: A “Commensurate” Amount Of PPP Funds Went To Low- And Mid-Income Areas 

  • REALITY: A New Study Has Found PPP Money “Didn’t Reach A Greater Share” Of Businesses In Low-Income Areas, Months After The SBA IG Warned There Was “No Evidence” That The Trump Administration Was Telling Lenders To Prioritize Underserved PPP Borrowers. 

RHETORIC: Trump Treasury Officials Claimed They Sought To “Maximize The Chances Of A V-Shaped Recovery” Through PPP And Other Policies 

  • REALITY: The Trump Administration Has Presided Over A K-Shaped Recovery, With The Wealthy Doing Well Amid A Booming Stock Market While Millions Of Americans Endure Severe Economic Insecurity. 

GET THE FACTS HERE

Accountable.US has been tracking the administration’s failure to get aid to those who need it most on its website, www.COVIDBailoutTracker.com, where the new SBA PPP data as well as all previously publicly released PPP data and additional CARES Act program spending is posted in a searchable format. Any new small business aid from Congress must include safeguards ensuring it’s transparent, efficient, accountable and targeted to those in greatest need — not the rich, powerful and friends of the president.    

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