Trump’s Treasury Is Blocking Aid to Struggling Businesses
A new bill in Congress can fix counterproductive restrictions that Mnuchin has placed on the Paycheck Protection Program.
Everything must go.
Photographer: Olivier Douliery/AFP/Getty Images
President Donald Trump understands that his chances of winning the November election depend on the strength of the economy. So why is his Treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin, going out of his way to impede a recovery?
Congress established the Paycheck Protection Program in late March to provide forgivable loans to businesses to help them through the Covid-19 crisis. The Small Business Administration is insisting that 75% of any amount forgiven has to be spent on payroll, as opposed to rent, utilities and other overhead costs. That requirement is not in the law, as the agency’s inspector general has pointed out in a report. The agency explained that it had consulted Mnuchin and determined this limit fit the law’s “overarching focus on keeping workers paid and employed.”