Republican Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley called out the Small Business Administration on Thursday for misinformation regarding coronavirus aid.
The Missouri senator sent a letter to the Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Jovita Carranza urging her to correct misinformation that the SBA had reportedly spread regarding religious organizations’ eligibility for coronavirus aid.
Local and regional SBA offices are reportedly communicating to churches and religious non-profits they are not eligible to participate in the coronavirus Paycheck Protection Program, according to Hawley’s letter.
“I am alarmed by these erroneous instructions, which directly contradict the text of the statute,” Hawley writes. “You must rectify this issue immediately.” (RELATED: Here Are The Pro-Life Protections In The $2 Trillion Coronavirus Emergency Relief Package)
Today my office is sending letters to all SBA regional officers in MO clarifying that the relief package passed by Congress explicitly makes SBA loans available for churches and religious nonprofits. If your church in MO is having trouble applying, please contact my office
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) April 2, 2020
“I urge that you move to immediately correct this misinformation and clarify to your local and regional offices that they must not arbitrarily disqualify churches and other religious non-profits from eligibility under the Paycheck Protection Program,” Hawley wrote.
He added: “These reports further underscore the importance of swiftly implementing official guidance and program rules for this program as to avoid any further confusion.”
Hawley said Section 1102 of the CARES Act, the $2 trillion coronavirus aid package, “is unambiguous on this matter.”
“Unaffiliated non-profit entitieswith under 500 employees that are structured as 501(c)(3) organizations are eligible for assistance,” he noted. “This includes churches and other religious non-profits. As I noted in my previous letter dated April 1, 2020, organizations with a principal religious purpose are not excluded from assistance under the Paycheck Protection Program.”
SBA has not responded to multiple requests for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.