Los Angeles Times, January 25, 2021, The PPP process was excruciating for some last year. Will it change this time around?
With the latest, $285-billion round of Paycheck Protection Program funding, which kicked off Jan. 11, federal officials are aiming to avoid the worst missteps of the previous versions. Small-business owners complained to lawmakers that the Paycheck Protection Program and other aid efforts in Congress’ $2.2-trillion CARES Act were confusing and unfair, and an audit found a potential $3.6 billion went to ineligible borrowers.
Discrimination also may have played a role in preventing funds from getting to small businesses run by people of color and women, said Anneliese Lederer, director of fair lending and consumer protection for the National Community Reinvestment Coalition advocacy organization in Washington. The coalition’s analysis of the program’s loans in the first two rounds found that most of the money went to businesses in wealthy white areas.