Top Democrat asks Trump administration to publicly disclose recipients of forgivable stimulus loans

House Democratic Caucus Chairman Rep. Hakeem Jeffries on Monday called on the federal government to release the names of the businesses that have received taxpayer-funded Paycheck Protection Program forgivable loans to help during the coronavirus.

“The American people deserve maximum transparency to ensure that the benefits are actually reaching the main street businesses, mom and pop shops, women and minority owned businesses, veteran owned businesses, small entrepreneurs and small family farmers who are the heart and soul of our economy,” Jeffries told Just the News during a conference call press briefing.

“We will continue to encourage the administration to maximize the disclosure as to who is receiving the support in connection with the Paycheck Protection Program so we can make the adjustments necessary as we go forward,” he also said.

To date, only some companies are voluntarily disclosing the Paycheck Protection Loans they've received. The Treasury Department has given large public companies until May 7 to return federal funding they received under the PPP program, which was designed for businesses under 500 employees.

As Congress begins to debate a fourth coronavirus relief package, Jeffries said he is “thankful” that the Los Angeles Lakers, Ruth’s Chris Steak House and Shake Shack have already returned the stimulus money they received.

“We would encourage other publicly-owned corporations to follow suit so that the relief can actually get to the main street businesses who need it,” said the New York Democrat and member of the Democratic House leadership team.

Recipients do not have to repay the loans if they are used for qualified businesses expenses such as payroll, rent and utilities. Congress setup the PPP program as part of the CARES Act that it passed in late March.

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), a key architect of PPP, said that Congress will make the federal government disclose the loan recipients if the Small Business Administration or Treasury Department does not do so voluntarily.

"The bottom line is we're going to know one way or the other who got this money,” Rubio said during a virtual town hall last week. “Treasury, SBA is eventually going to have to release that. I always thought they were going to have to, and if they don't, we'll make them do it.”