Members of Congress took small-business loans — and the full extent is unknown
Some GOP lawmakers who benefited from the Paycheck Protection Program also opposed legislation requiring lending transparency.
Much of the scrutiny surrounding lawmakers taking PPP loans has centered on Rep. Roger Williams, one of the wealthiest members of Congress. | Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo
At least four members of Congress have reaped benefits in some way from the half-trillion-dollar small-business loan program they helped create.
And no one knows how many more there could be.
It’s a bipartisan group of lawmakers who have acknowledged close ties to companies that have received loans from the program — businesses that are either run by their families or employ their spouse as a senior executive.
Republicans on the list include Rep. Roger Williams of Texas, a wealthy businessman who owns auto dealerships, body shops and car washes, and Rep. Vicky Hartzler of Missouri, whose family owns multiple farms and equipment suppliers across the Midwest. The Democrats count Rep. Susie Lee of Nevada, whose husband is CEO of a regional casino developer, and Rep. Debbie Mucarsel Powell of Florida, whose husband is an executive at a restaurant chain that has since returned the loan.
It’s not illegal, or even uncommon, for members of Congress to be involved in policy decisions that sometimes overlap with their own financial interests. But it becomes a conflict of interest if members use their position of influence to enhance their own standing.
And mixing the two is politically perilous. Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.) faces a tough campaign because of stock trades she made during the pandemic even though the FBI has since dropped its probe. Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) was forced to step down, at least temporarily, from his chairmanship of the Intelligence Committee for stock trades.
Some transparency groups, as well as some lawmakers, have pointed out that Congress created no disclosure rules for its own members when it comes to the sprawling PPP program, unlike some other sections of the $2 trillion relief bill.
For example, the House’s Office of General Counsel sent a letter to all members in May asking them to self-identify if they or close family members have financial ties to companies that might benefit from a separate Federal Reserve liquidity program.
The same does not exist for PPP.
The push for greater disclosures has been bipartisan in the Senate: Small Business Chairman Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), the lead architect of the PPP, earlier this month asked the administration in a joint letter with Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) to adhere to SBA disclosure practices and release the names and other details of PPP borrowers. In April, Rubio said Congress was prepared to force the administration to disclose loan recipients and “the bottom line is we’re going to know one way or the other who got this money.”
Williams did write a lengthy statement on May 5, announcing that one of his companies received a loan, but it was published four days after it was first reportedby the Dallas Morning News. Hartzler released her statementon April 29, one day after it was reported by the Columbia (Mo.) Tribune.
“Like every other company who accepted a small-business loan, our business qualified under law and regulation, and today over 100 of our employees are grateful that we did,” Williams wrote in a note to constituents published on his website.