WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 27, 2020) — The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the nation’s leading small business advocacy organization, issued the following statement on behalf of NFIB President Brad Close, following reports that at least $870 million in Paycheck Protection Program loans went to large, publicly traded companies:
“This money would have kept the lights on and payroll current for tens of thousands of true small businesses and their employees, and the news that it didn’t is outrageous. Small businesses are suffering through an economic shutdown in which they had no say and these funds are crucial to their survival.
“Publicly traded companies did not access this money on their own. The legislation lacked strong guardrails, leaving an opening for big business, and allowing large financial institutions to help their bigger clients access money intended for real small businesses. Policymakers should put an immediate halt to this nonsense, prohibit financial institutions from prioritizing publicly traded clients, and should take great strides to ensure that every penny taken by publicly traded companies be returned and then provided to their intended recipients – small businesses.”
According to NFIB research, these funds could cover, for example, nearly 13,000 small businesses with five employees and average salaries of $65,000 per employee, small businesses that have no other options for financial assistance.
