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Hundreds of millions of U.S. taxpayer dollars went to Chinese companies from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which was designed to help small businesses survive during the pandemic, according to a new report. A review of public PPP loan data by consultancy firm Horizon Advisory found that $192 million to $419 million in loans were given to more than 125 Chinese-owned or -invested companies operating in the United States. Many of the loans were substantial, with at least 32 Chinese-owned firms receiving more than $1 million under the program, totaling between $85 million and $180 million, it found. The recipients...

A Florida man was arrested and charged with fraudulently obtaining $3.9 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and using those funds, in part, to purchase a sports car for himself. Authorities seized a $318,000 sports car and $3.4 million from bank accounts at the time of arrest. Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian C. Rabbitt of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan of the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge Kyle A. Myles of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Office of Inspector General (OIG), Office of Investigation’s Atlanta Regional Office, Inspector in Charge...

A new poll released Wednesday by national Democratic-aligned groups shows former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper leading Republican U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner by 11 percentage points — and the Democratic challenger holds a 19-point lead over the incumbent among self-described independent voters. The Public Policy Polling survey, commissioned by Hickenlooper endorsers End Citizens United and Let America Vote, found Hickenlooper with 51% support to Gardner's 40%, with 9% not sure.

At least 18 left-wing groups supported by the billionaire George Soros's liberal donor club applied for federal loans meant to help small businesses during the coronavirus pandemic, receiving up to $20 million in taxpayer cash between them. Groups backed by the Democracy Alliance, a donor network cofounded by Soros, hauled in cash from the Paycheck Protection Program, a federal program established to provide an economic boost to small businesses and their workers during coronavirus shutdowns. Together, the groups received between $8.5 million and $20.7 million. In addition to the Democracy Alliance groups, another liberal donor network that pays the club...

A prominent Delaware law firm founded by presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden received a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan for between $150,000 and $350,000, according to records released Monday by the Treasury Department and the Small Business Administration. The Trump campaign told Fox News that the records conflict with recent messaging from the Biden campaign that the PPP program is both ineffective and a vehicle to reward Trump "cronies." “Instead of attacking President Trump as an involuntary reflex, maybe Joe Biden should just say ‘thank you’ once in a while," Trump campaign director of communications Tim Murtaugh told Fox...

Organizations that vigorously oppose government spending took Paycheck Protection Program loans, including some that have criticized the CARES Act, which created the PPP program, according to data released by the Small Business Administration. Americans for Tax Reform Foundation, which says it “educates taxpayers on the true cost of government” and “the realities of costly government programs,” received between $150,000 and $300,000 in loans. In a statement, Americans for Tax Reform claimed it “never opposed” the PPP program and defended the foundation’s decision to take government loans, which it said allowed the foundation to “maintain its employees without laying anyone off”...

LONDON/BOSTON - Last month Zagg Inc, a Utah-based company that makes mobile device accessories, received more than $9.4 million in cash from a U.S. government program that has provided emergency loans to millions of businesses hit by the coronavirus. The money was part of the $660 billion Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) - a linchpin of President Donald Trump’s economic rescue package, meant to save small firms convulsed by the pandemic and help them to keep workers on the payroll. Claimants certified the loans were necessary to support their business and received an average of $115,000 as of May 26, according...

A federal appeals court on Tuesday rejected an effort by a group of lobbyists and political consultants to obtain access to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and its emergency loans for small businesses hit by the coronavirus pandemic. A three-judge panel on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a federal judge's decision not to grant a request by the American Association of Political Consultants (AAPC) for a preliminary injunction against the Small Business Administration (SBA), which oversees the lending program. In a three-page decision, the panel rejected the group's argument that excluding lobbyists and political consultants from the loans...

Starting life before there was a town as four walls and some dry goods for fur trappers, it served its first beer just 19 years after the town was founded and near-half a century before it was incorporated.The story below is the third in a series on America’s small businesses, their struggles under the shutdowns, and what they’re doing to survive. Over two weeks, The Federalist is traveling the country to tell more stories like this one.HUNTSVILLE, UTAH — Across the Wasatch mountains from the county seat of Ogden, in a tony country neighborhood by the Pineview Reservoir, and around...

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., led a letter signed by 27 Republican senators asking Attorney General William Barr to investigate how several Planned Parenthood affiliates got $80 million worth of coronavirus relief funds from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) despite rules restricting them from receiving the money due to the number of employees the organizations have. The letter comes after "Tucker Carlson Tonight" learned earlier this week that the Small Business Administration (SBA) is reaching out to the affiliates that improperly self-certified that they are eligible for the stimulus cash aimed at keeping small businesses afloat during the pandemic, and asking...

The weight to having a family business,' Raymond says while guiding me through massive walk-in freezers holding a fraction of their capacity, 'is you don't want to be the one who fails.'The story below is the second in a series on America’s small businesses, their struggles under the shutdowns, and what they’re doing to survive. Over two weeks, The Federalist is traveling the country to tell more stories like this one (and a few about the outlaws).SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH — Raymond and Jill Zaelit massively expanded their facilities in 2017. Their business is meat, or more specifically, carving, crafting...

Sidwell Friends School, a Quaker-affiliated independent school known for enrolling top lawmakers' children—including the daughters of former presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama—accepted a $5.2 million loan under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), Congress's bailout fund for small businesses affected by the coronavirus crisis. The school, which brings in over $40 million in tuition annually, declined to give back the loan after Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin called on "private schools with significant endowments" to "return" PPP funds. In a letter to the community, the board of trustees cited its "fiduciary responsibilities" as well as "our Quaker values" in...

Senate Judiciary Committee Member John Kennedy, R-La., channeled actor Jack Nicholson Tuesday to describe his response to the latest coronavirus stimulus bill pushed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. "Go sell crazy somewhere else, we're all stocked up here," Kennedy told "Hannity," quoting Nicholson's character Melvin Udall in the 1997 movie "As Good As It Gets."

Yesterday's employment report for April showed 20.5 million jobs lost and an unemployment rate of 14.7%. This is its worst since the Great Depression. It was at a 50-year low of 3.5% just two months ago. Awful, yes, but only half as bad as it looks for the economy. Why? Because roughly half of American workers can earn more from unemployment benefits than they earned at their jobs prior to the coronavirus shutdown, according to Eric Morath at the Wall Street Journal. On top of state unemployment, federal coronavirus stimulus is adding $600 per week. With my sister, I co-own...

Senior Editor Chris Bedford interviews Congressman Chip Roy on federal bail outs and reopening the economy amid the coronaviurs shut down. No dime of bailout money should go to state or local governments that continue “to lock down commerce,” Texas Rep. Chip Roy told The Federalist Radio Hour in a far-reaching Friday interview now available in its entirety. “Frankly, I’ve got to think about [giving money] at all, but if we think it’s appropriate to help them from losing some of their tax base, I sure as hell don’t want money to [state and local governments] who are continuing to...

On Thursday, Congress approved another wave of small business relief. An additional $310 billion has been appropriated to replenish the popular Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)—which provides forgivable loans to America’s small business community. These entrepreneurs have been on the frontlines of the pandemic and keeping them primed will be the key to restarting the economy as the country begins to reopen. The initial $349 billion allocated for the PPP under the CARES Act was a blockbuster hit among the country’s entrepreneurs. Within 14 days of launching, the funding limit was reached and over 1.6 million businesses were approved for loans—which...

Jamie Black-Lewis felt like she won the lottery after getting two forgivable loans through the Paycheck Protection Program. Black-Lewis saw the $177,000 and $43,800 loans, one for each of the spas she owns in Washington state, as a lifeline she could use for payroll and other business expenses. She’d halted pay for the 35 employees — including herself — at Oasis Medspa & Salon, in Woodinville, and Amai Day Spa, in Bothell, in mid-March, when nonessential businesses in Washington closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. When Black-Lewis convened a virtual employee meeting to explain her good fortune, she expected jubilation...

There are reasons major companies got massive loans from the Senate's 'small business' bailout while thousands of small businesses that applied immediately were told there was no money left. There are reasons major companies got massive loans from the Senate’s “small business” bailout while thousands of small businesses that applied the first day funds were available were told there was no money left. Who is to blame, however, is more complicated.Imagine bankers who won’t deliver you taxpayer assistance unless you already owe them money. Imagine bankers who will put you at the back of the line so that franchises worth...

Shake Shack is returning a $10 million loan it received from the U.S. government under an emergency program that was touted as a way to help small businesses pay workers and keep their operations running during the coronavirus crisis. The burger chain was awarded the loan as part of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The $349 billion stimulus package, overseen by the Small Business Administration (SBA), ran out of funding last week. Over the last few days, there has been a growing backlash over the distribution of the funds. Several media outlets have revealed how large chunks of the package...

Senator Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced an unplanned Senate session will take place Tuesday as Democrats continue their refusals to restock funding for the Paycheck Protection Program.  “It’s now been four days since the Paycheck Protection Program ran out of money. Republicans have been trying to secure more funding for this critical program for a week and a half. At this hour, our Democratic colleagues are still prolonging their discussions with the Administration, so the Senate regretfully will not be able to pass more funding for Americans’ paychecks today," McConnell said in remarks on the floor Monday. “However, since this is...