Mnuchin, Powell testify on Capitol Hill about which businesses received money from Congress, Fed

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will testify Tuesday morning before the Senate Banking committee, marking the first oversight review of the federal government’s $2 trillion relief package passed in early March.

Mnuchin is expected to face tough questions about the package’s small business lending program, known as the Payroll Protection Program.  

The program, which provides $349 billion in forgivable loans to small companies, has had numerous problems including many businesses unable to get loans before the initial funding was depleted. The disbursement of a second round of loans was slowed by computer processing delays, as a result of high demand, and publicly traded companies getting money intended for small business that Mnuchin demanded be repaid.

Mnuchin said in prepared testimony that so far, the paycheck program has processed more than 4.2 million loans for over $530 billion “to keep tens of millions of hardworking Americans on the payroll,” according to the Associated Press.

Powell has pledged to reveal the names and other details of the entities that borrow from the emergency programs the central bank has set up to offset the economic hit from the viral outbreak.

In his prepared testimony, Powell said the central bank will disclose the amounts borrowed and the interest rates it levies under its programs to provide credit for large corporations, state and local governments, and medium-sized businesses, according to the wire service.