(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Congressman Jamie Raskin (MD-08) today joined Representatives Tony Cárdenas (CA-29), Judy Chu (CA-27), and Marc Veasey (TX-33) in sending a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy urging them to include reporting requirements on the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) in the next coronavirus response package. Specifically, the letter requests that reporting requirements be included in the bill to allow Congress to track loan applications filed by minority owned businesses, and the number of loans that are approved and denied to minority owned businesses. This will increase transparency, create accountability, and ensure that funds are being distributed fairly.
“Business owners of color frequently face greater hurdles and added scrutiny in securing the capital that they need to operate,” Members wrote. “As members of Congress and the creators of a program that will disburse $349 billion tax dollars in forgivable loans, it is our responsibility to ensure that that money is reaching every corner of the small business world and buoying all communities fairly, as it was intended to do. As such, tracking the rate at which these loans are being disbursed to minority owned business is a prerequisite to our fulfilling that responsibility.”
The letter was also signed by Representatives Alcee Hastings, Joaquin Castro, Steve Cohen, Tulsi Gabbard, Jan Schakowsky, Danny K. Davis, Brenda L. Lawrence, J. Luis Correa, Alma S. Adams, Bill Foster, Grace Napolitano, Diana DeGette, Joe Neguse, Gilbert R. Cisneros, Jerry McNerney, Sanford D. Bishop, Frederica S. Wilson, Daniel T. Kildee, André Carson, Eleanor H. Norton, Martin T. Scanlon, Andriano Espaillat, Eddie Bernice Johnson, Adam Smith, Vincente Gonzalez, Debbie Murcarsel-Powell, Alan Lowenthal, Thomas Suozzi, David Trone, Darren Soto, Ted Lieu, Bobby L. Rush, Brad Sherman, Susan Davis, Bennie G. Thompson, Salud Carbajal, Jennifer Wexton, Barbara Lee, Eleanor H. Norton, Mike Doyle, Anthony G. Brown, Kathy Castor, Lucille Roybal-Allard, Ami Bera, Marcia L. Fudge, Linda Sanchez, Albio Sires, Deb Haaland, Juan Vargas, and Suzanne Bonamici.
The text of the letter is copied below, and a PDF of the letter can be found here.
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