Rep. Thomas Massie says his efforts to force a House vote on the program to shore up companies’ employment rolls amid the coronavirus pandemic are vindicated by stories of entities getting money from the federal government that never should have.
Massie, a Kentucky Republican, points specifically to a $333,000 loan that went to the Ohio Democratic Party under the Paycheck Protection Program, which was aimed at providing a direct incentive for small businesses, not political organizations, to keep their workers on the payroll.
“Republican leaders in Congress were so anxious to pass PPP that they conspired with @SpeakerPelosi to prevent a recorded vote. Now we see where the money is going. At least I was able to make them come to DC to pass it,” Massie tweeted, referring to the March 27 $2.2 trillion economic relief measure he called a “cover up” for lawmakers’ refusal on both sides of the aisle to vote by roll call.
A campaign finance reports shows the United States Small Business Administration approved a loan on April 30 for $333,867 to the Ohio Democratic Party, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.
Although the party received the PPP loan check by May 6, Ohio Democrats criticized the program on May 19, tweeting: “With so many small businesses shut out from receiving PPP loans — while nearly 300 publicly traded companies received more than $1 billion from the program — local governments across Ohio are stepping up to help small businesses, which are often the center of their communities.”
The Ohio Republican Party, however, did not apply for a loan through the PPP and pointed this out on Twitter, comparing its chairwoman, Jane Murphy Timken, with her Democratic counterpart, David Pepper.
“When @OHDems faced a crisis, @DavidPepper asked for a handout while bashing the program out of the other side of his mouth. When @ohiogop faced the same thing, @janeymurph led her organization through hard work and determination,” Ohio GOP Executive Director Rob Secaur tweeted.
