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THURSDAY, JULY 9, 2020
Data: Congress created virus aid, then
reaped the benefits
WASHINGTON (AP) - At least a
dozen lawmakers have ties to or-
ganisations that received federal
coronavirus aid, according to newly
released government data, high-
lighting how Washington insiders
were both author and bene iciary
of one of the biggest government
programmes in United States
(US) history.
Under pressure from Congress
and outside groups, the Trump ad-
ministration this week disclosed
the names of some loan recipients
in the USD659 billion Paycheck Pro-
tection Program (PPP), launched in
April to help smaller businesses
keep Americans employed dur-
ing the pandemic. Connections to
lawmakers, and the organisations
that work to in luence them, were
quickly apparent.
Among businesses that received
money was a California hotel partial-
ly owned by the husband of House
Speaker Nancy Pelosi, as well as a
shipping business started by Trans-
portation Secretary Elaine Chao’s
family. Chao is married to Senate
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
Car dealerships owned by at
least three Republican House mem-
bers — Roger Williams of Texas,
Vern Buchanan of Florida and Mike
Kelly of Pennsylvania — received
money. So, too, did fast-food fran-
chises owned by Kevin Hern, ROk-
la, a law irm owned by the husband
of Senator Jeanne Shaheen, DNH,
and the former law irm of Matt
Cartwright, DPa, which employs
his wife.
Money also lowed to a farming
and equipment business owned by
the family of Vicky Hartzler, RMo.
Members of Congress and their
families are not barred from receiv-
ing loans under the PPP, and there
is no evidence they received special
treatment. Loans were granted to
Democrats and Republicans alike,
somethingPresidentDonaldTrump’s
campaign was quick to highlight
when records showed donors to his
campaign coffers were among the
earliest bene iciaries.
Hundreds of millions of dollars
also lowed to political consultants,
opposition research shops, law
irms, advocacy organisations and
trade associations whose work is
based around in luencing govern-
ment and politics.
While voting, lobbying and ul-
timately bene itting from legisla-
tion aren’t illegal, advocates said
the blurred lines risk eroding pub-
lic trust in the federal pandemic
response as Congress begins
debating yet another round of
coronavirus relief.
“It certainly looks bad and
smells bad,” said Aaron Scherb, a
spokesperson for Common Cause,
awatchdog groupwhose education
arm was also approved for a loan
through the programme. Members
of Congress should not be allowed
to vote on bills in which they can
personally bene it, he said.
As of June 30, the Treasury De-
partment programme had handed
out USD521 billion to industries in-
cluding manufacturing, construc-
tion, restaurants and hotels.
Treasury identified just a frac-
tion of the total borrowers on
Monday, naming only companies
that got more than USD150,000.
Those firms made up less than
15 per cent of the nearly five
million small companies and or-
ganisations that received assis-
tance. Many of the lawmakers
connected to loan awards em-
phasised they weren’t part of the
application process.
A spokesperson for Pelosi said
her husband, Paul, is a minority in-
vestor in the company that owns
the El Dorado Hotel in Sonoma,
California. Paul Pelosi has an 8.1 per
cent stake in the company, valued
at USD250,000 to USD500,000,
Pelosi’s of ice said.
“Mr Pelosi is a minor, passive
investor in this company,” said the
Democratic Speaker’s spokesper-
son, Drew Hammill. “He was not in-
volved in or even aware of this PPP
loan.” The irm, EDI Associates, is list-
ed as a recipient of a loan between
USD350,000 and USD1 million.
New York-based Foremost
Maritime Co, founded by Chao’s
parents and run by her sister, was
cleared for a loan valued between
USD350,000 and USD1 million. Mc-
Connell, a Republican seeking re-
election in Kentucky, said on Tues-
day, “Neither my wife, nor I, have
anything to do with that business
and didn’t know anything about it.”
The Shaheen & Gordon law irm
in Dover, NewHampshire, got a loan
of USD1 million to USD2 million. The
irm is owned by Jeanne Shaheen’s
husband, William Shaheen. A title
company partially owned byWilliam
Shaheen got a USD160,000 loan
and a half dozen companies he par-
tially owns or another relative owns
got loans, below USD150,000.
Jeanne Shaheen said she “was
not involved in any way in applying
for those loans nor do I have any-
thing to do with their businesses,
and Congress had no role in pro-
cessing PPP applications.’’
Four car dealerships owned
by Kelly received USD600,000 to
USD1.4 million. Mike Kelly Auto-
motive Group, Mike Kelly Automo-
tive LP and Mike Kelly Hyundai and
Kelly Chevrolet-Cadillac, all near
Pittsburgh, received the money. A
spokesman for Kelly said he wasn’t
part of the loan application and
isn’t involved in the operations of
the dealerships, in accordance with
ethics rules.
Williams, who had a net worth of
over USD27 million in 2018, received
a loan for his RogerWilliams Chrysler
Dodge Jeep dealership in Weath-
erford, Texas. Williams is president
and CEO of JRW Corp of Fort Worth,
which is listed as receiving a loan of
USD1 million to USD2 million. “Like
every other company who accepted
a small business loan, our business
quali ied under law and regulation,
and today over 100 of our employ-
ees are grateful that we did,’’ Wil-
liams said in a statement.
Buchanan, whose net worth
is estimated at USD74 million, re-
ceived three loans for car dealer-
ships totalling USD2.7 million to
USD7 million. He told the
Tampa
Bay Times
that he hoped any eli-
gible small business “would use
the programme to make sure their
workers continued to get paid dur-
ing this dif icult period”.
At least ive car dealerships
owned by the husband of Rep Carol
Miller, RW Va, also received loans,
each ranging from USD350,000 to
USD1 million, the data show.
Other lawmakers, while dis-
tancing themselves from the loan
process, sought to portray the PPP
programme as a success story.
Hern’s Tulsa-based KTAK Corp,
a management company for sever-
al McDonald’s restaurants, received
USD1 million to USD2 million. Hern
isn’t involved in the day-to-day op-
erations, but “he is happy to share
that the family business was able to
keep all employees either at their
current level of employment or
move part-time employees to full
time,” Hern’s Chief of Staff Cam-
eron Foster said. Four businesses
owned by fellow Rep Markwayne
Mullin, ROkla, received at least
USD800,000.
Malaysian palm oil giant hit with forced
labour allegations
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - An anti-
traf icking organisation has iled
a petition to ban the importa-
tion of palm oil produced by one
of the world's largest suppliers,
saying it found evidence of child
and forced labour on plantations
that supply American food and
cosmetics companies.
The petition against Malaysia-
based Sime Darby Plantation Ber-
had was iled with United States
(US) Customs and Border Protec-
tion by the nonpro it group Lib-
erty Shared. The Tariff Act of 1930
prohibits entry to goods that arrive
at US ports if there is reason to be-
lieve they contain materials made
with forced labour.
Managing
Director
Dun-
can Jepson said on Tuesday his
group interviewed local and for-
eign workers over a two-year
period, met with civil society
groups and scrutinised public
disclosures, audit reports, and
sustainability initiatives.
In addition to child and forced
labour — including deception
during the recruitment process,
threats and intimidation, the reten-
tion of passports, withholding of
wages, and inadequate living con-
ditions — Liberty Shared found that
Sime Darby had taken few concrete
steps to prevent abuses.
The company did not immedi-
ately respond to emails seeking
comment. Malaysia is the world's
second largest producer of palm
oil, the most consumed ed-
ible oil. Sime Darby is one of the
largest producers.
While the industry has come
under heavy criticism in recent
years for destroying rain forests to
make way for plantations, attention
has shifted in recent years to con-
ditions faced by its army of work-
ers, around 80 per cent of whom
are migrants. The petition against
Sime Darby — made public this
week — follows two others against
another of Malaysia's palm oil gi-
ants, FGV Holdings Berhad (FGV),
one by a law irm and the other by
a coalition of labour, environmental
and social justice NGOs.
File photo shows Representative Mike Kelly, R Pa, during a hearing on
Capitol Hill in Washington. PHOTO: AP
China’s June
real estate
financing
warms up
BEIJING (XINHUA) - China’s real
estate inancing has seen great
expansion last month, while pres-
sure still exists in the second half
of this year, analysts said.
In June, inancing by Chinese
property developers surged 66.2
per cent month on month with
the unleashing of pent-up de-
mand, according to CRIC, a prop-
erty research institution.
The igure was second only
to that in January and represent-
ed year-on-year growth of 32.6
per cent. Financing pressure
eased in the short term because
of the lower credit and domestic
bond issuance cost, said Chen
Mengmeng, a researcher of
Shanghai-based real estate con-
sultant irm Tospur.
However, China’s property
irms may still face certain inanc-
ing strain in H2 due to potential
tightening in market liquidity and
pressure from debt repayment,
noted the research institute of on-
line housing platform Beike.
Palmoil can be found in up to half
of all products currently on grocery
store shelves in the US and Europe,
from cookies, crackers and cake mix-
es to soap, laundry detergent and
many popular cosmetics brands.
File photo shows a worker at a palm oil fruit collection centre in Dangkil,
outside Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. PHOTO: AP