The United States Small Business Association (SBA) scrapped a requirement that had loan seekers undergo an ethics review before obtaining funds from the Payment Protection Program (PPP).[1]
The SBA normally required applicants to obtain a waiver from a Standards of Conduct Committee to confirm there were no potential ethics violations or conflicts of interest before obtaining a loan. That provision was scrapped for the PPP, and SBA spokesperson Jim Billimoria said that the removal of that requirement was standard procedure for emergency disaster loans, such as the PPP, that help companies pay salaries and other expenses during a pandemic.
He said the Standards of Conduct Committee gave blanket approval to applicants to speed up the process and get funds to where they were needed as quickly as possible.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office has issued a report on the government’s handling of COVID-19– related payments and has found that millions of payments went to dead people, the SBA failed to provide information when required, and that few agencies are prepared to handle fraud risks.[2]