Free Republic

WASHINGTON — Small businesses in Fayette County affected by the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore are eligible to apply for U.S. Small Business Administration low-interest loans. Fayette is one of eight Pennsylvania counties where small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small aquaculture businesses, and private nonprofit organizations now are eligible for Economic Injury Disaster Loans, which carry interest rates of 4% (3.25% for private nonprofit organizations) and have terms of as long as 30 years. Businesses can borrow up to $2 million to pay operating expenses if their revenues dropped due to the disaster. Businesses in Maryland;...

York County didn't qualify to receive low-interest loans to help residents and businesses impacted by severe weather earlier this month. The announcement came after a federal survey team from the U.S. Small Business Administration visited the county this week to assess damage caused by tornadoes and severe storms on Aug. 7. The SBA didn't say why York County didn't qualify for assistance. The National Weather Service confirmed two tornadoes touched down – one in Manheim Township and the other in East Hopewell Township. Thousands of people were without power for up to a week. Some families said it will take...

From Judge Clifton Corker's opinion today in Ultima Servs. Corp. v. U.S. Dep't of Agric. (E.D. Tenn.): This case concerns whether, under the Fifth Amendment's guarantee of equal protection, Defendants the United States' Department of Agriculture ("USDA") and the Small Business Administration ("SBA") may use a "rebuttable presumption" of social disadvantage for certain minority groups to qualify them for inclusion in a federal program that awards government contracts on a preferred basis to businesses owned by individuals in those minority groups. The court generally answers this "no"; here's an excerpt, though if you're interested in the details you should read...

A new Associated Press analysis of government data suggests 10 percent of all COVID aid was lost to fraud or theft. That figure will likely grow.Over the past three years, the federal government distributed more than $4.2 trillion in aid connected to the COVID-19 pandemic. More than $400 billion of it—nearly one in every $10 spent—was either wasted or stolen, according to a new report. And that figure is likely to grow, the Associated Press reported on Tuesday, "as investigators dig deeper into thousands of potential schemes." Already, prosecutors have charged more than 2,230 defendants with pandemic-related fraud crimes, the...

Federal spending jumped from $4.45 trillion in 2019 to $6.21 trillion in 2023, according to the Congressional Budget Office. That is a 40 percent increase in four years. The pandemic supercharged the federal budget, and spending and deficits are expected to continue rising unless policymakers pursue major reforms.What is all the new spending since 2019? The answer is surprising, as shown in the two tables below. The main drivers of the recent increases have not been the largest three programs—Social Security, Medicare, and defense—but rather rapid growth in numerous other programs.Table 1 shows CBO spending for 2019 and baseline estimates...

More than $250 billion in Covid-19 relief funds were lost to “fraud” and “waste,” the directors of three US government agencies testified before the House Oversight and Accountability subcommittee on Thursday. Compounding what Deputy Inspector General Sheldon Shoemaker of the Small Business Administration (SBA) called “the biggest fraud in a generation,” the officials stressed that the figures they gave represented an extremely conservative estimate of the total amount lost as they did not include the amount defrauded from the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program. According to a statement submitted by Shoemaker ahead of the hearing, the SBA has already uncovered $190.7...

Started 7 minutes late, lasted for 30 minutes and was basically an infomercial for the DNC. Here are the lowlights: 1. Seniors will only pay $2K a year in out of pocket prescriptions (???) 2. Climate change, climate change, climate change. 4K tax credit for buying a USED EV (LOL), Mayor of Houston spouted off about planting trees and making the city fleets EV (rolls eyes). 3. 15% minimum tax on corporations won't effect small biz BECAUSE most are pass through entities (um, yeah right) 4. Social justice and equity. The main speaker sounded like Kamala Harris and KJP combined....

Federal agents raided the offices Tuesday of a New York City police union, the Sergeants Benevolent Association, and the Long Island home of its bombastic leader, who has clashed with city officials over his incendiary tweets and hard-line tactics. FBI spokesperson Martin Feely said agents were “carrying out a law enforcement action in connection with an ongoing investigation.” Along with the union’s Manhattan headquarters, agents also searched union president Ed Mullins’ home in Port Washington, Long Island, Feely said. Messages seeking comment were left with Mullins and the union. Mullins, who is also a police sergeant, is in the middle...

Nearly 3,000 approved applicants, all women and people in groups deemed most in need, were told they wouldn't get their funds following legal challenges to the selection process. By Peter Romeo on Jun. 15, 2021…… The 2,965 operators are all women, persons deemed socially and economically disadvantaged, or military veterans. They had applied for federal relief during the first 21 days of the Revitalization program, when priority was given to those groups because they were regarded as particularly in need of financial assistance. Given those developments, the SBA alerted 2,965 female and disadvantaged applicants via letter that they would not...

A former Olympian has been charged with defrauding the Small Business Administration over a pandemic loan. Luka Klasinc, a Slovenian figure skater, competed in the men's singles event at the 1992 Winter Olympics. ... ...Beginning last July, Klasinc's company received more than $1.5 million in Economic Injury Disaster Loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration. When accounts that controlled the money started making suspicious wire transfers, Klasinc's bank froze the funds, according to the criminal complaint....

Just before the Memorial Day weekend, Senate Democrats quietly confirmed a longtime anti-Israel activist to serve on the United States Postal Service's Board of Governors, raising further questions about the Biden administration's embrace of those who serve on the front lines in the fight to delegitimize the Jewish state. Democrats confirmed by voice vote Friday evening Anton Hajjar, a longtime member of and legal adviser to the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), a notoriously anti-Israel organization that promotes anti-Semitic canards. The group routinely and inaccurately refers to Israel as an "apartheid state," a term meant to stoke anger at Israel, and...

A woman who took out a loan trying to save her small business during the pandemic now says that loan could cause her to shut down. The owner just found out she owes thousands more dollars than she expected. CBS 2’s Tara Molina is Working for Chicago, helping people navigate these challenging times. She reports that owner says she just can’t afford to pay it all back. She’s on the hook for $36,000 today. Money she says she doesn’t have, and can’t be forgiven, all because of what she calls bad communication with the bank she turned to for help....

...People caught on fast. In some neighborhoods in Chicago and Miami, it seemed like everyone made a bogus application to the Small Business Administration’s Covid-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan program.... ...The SBA’s much-vaunted new computer system, built by an outside contractor for $750 million, proved blind to certain types of fraud and sometimes awarded grants even when it spotted disqualifying features. The agency pressured loan officers with little training to churn through applications quickly, while making it difficult for them to detect or report suspicious ones. ...

The federal government can’t take our money and give it to Joel Osteen or Robert Jeffress or Paula White—even in the wake of a pandemic,” I wrote back in May. But that’s exactly what Trump’s Small Business Administration has done by giving Paycheck Protection Program funds to churches. Paula White’s church took in between $150,000 and $350,000, Jeffress’s church grabbed between $2 million and $5 million and, now we know that Osteen’s megachurch pocketed $4.4 million. Other megachurches snagged millions of taxpayer dollars. As time passes, the inevitable abuses are coming to light. One megachurch televangelist even bought a private...

According to a Fox News report, $80 million in stimulus funds intended to help small businesses struggling through coronavirus economic hardship have gone instead to Planned Parenthood, the multi-billion dollar abortion business. Under the CARES Act’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), Congress allocated $349 billion in federal funds to provide assistance to small businesses with fewer than 500 employees. According to the Department of the Treasury, funds may be used to pay up to eight weeks of payroll costs including benefits” as well as “interest on mortgages, rent, and utilities.” In August 2019, Planned Parenthood rejected Title X federal funding after...

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...

There are a lot of people on Wall Street and in Washington who see no problem with an America defined by big box stores and chain restaurants. California released a plan Tuesday to reopen businesses. One thing conspicuously missing from the governor’s slideshow was any sort of timeline, replaced instead by a six-point plan to remake society around fear of the coronavirus. Could be June, he said in a press conference, or even July or August. One thing conspicuously included was the observation that “things will look different,” including restaurants having to open “with fewer tables.” California’s Gov. Gavin Newsom...

While it looks like everyone is taking seriously the average worker’s needs, no one at the decision-making level has thought of the small business owner. If you’re a small business owner like I am, you’ve been closely following the stimulus efforts of the federal government, looking for a lifeline out of the mess of delayed payments, lost revenue, and furloughed employees. Unfortunately, while it looks as though everyone is taking seriously the average worker’s needs, no one at the decision-making level has thought of the small business owner. Congress passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act on March 18, providing...

Has your business or non-profit been adversely impacted by the COVID-19 shut-down or slow-down? Will you be able to pay your employees? Or the rent? Will you be able to pay yourself? Congress is trying to help by giving away quite a bit of free money, and that should get your attention. There are still details to be worked out about how these new plans will be implemented, but here’s some initial info: The first and quickest option for relief is an Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) from the Small Business Administration. You can borrow funds necessary to meet expenses...

This is what my Banker sent me today. I urge any of you who are self employed or contractor to apply for this.