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In Texas, federal PPP loans went to a U.S. House campaign, Senate hopeful’s law firm and lieutenant gov’s radio stations

A car dealership owned by Rep. Roger Williams, an Austin Republican, secured a loan worth at least $1 million through a fund designed to help small businesses through the coronavirus pandemic.

Updated at 4 p.m.: Revised to include additional information throughout.

WASHINGTON — A North Texas car dealership owned by Rep. Roger Williams received a forgivable loan valued between $1 million and $2 million through a small-business assistance fund created by Congress earlier this year due to the coronavirus outbreak.

While The Dallas Morning News first reported on the loan’s existence in May, Williams’ company had declined to detail the size of the financial aid.

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The additional info was only made public this week as the U.S. Small Business Administration — amid pressure from ethics groups, news organizations and other officials — released the names of every company that received at least a $150,000 loan through the Paycheck Protection Program.

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Williams, an Austin Republican, appears to be the most prominent Texas lawmaker in Congress linked to a business that tapped the relief program, though Rep. Chip Roy, R-Austin, and his wife own a “fractional stake” in an Austin-based sand mining company that received a loan.

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A handful of companies with connections to other U.S. lawmakers — Democrat and Republican — also accessed the fund, according to media reports.

Nothing prevented firms tied to members of Congress or their spouses from seeking the loans, which were designed to allow businesses with 500 or fewer employees to maintain payroll amid the pandemic’s historic economic toll.

Ditto for other politically connected entities — including, per the new data, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s broadcast company; the law firm owned by state Sen. Royce West, a Democrat running for U.S. Senate; and the restaurant chain founded by Ray Washburne, a former aide to President Donald Trump.

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But good-government groups have questioned the wisdom of allowing lawmakers and other political insiders in Texas and beyond to procure funds from a massive program that lawmakers themselves created with few guardrails and, until now, little transparency.

Williams — whose company, JRW Corp., credited the loan for retaining 122 jobs — has been a vocal defender of his dealership’s actions since the loan was initially disclosed.

“Why would I not want to stay competitive with my opponents?” he said last month on Fox Business Network, explaining that the auto industry was hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak. “Why would I not want to make sure that I preserve jobs for my employees?”

He added: “I don’t regret it at all.”

Several Democrats have been less charitable — zeroing in on Williams, in particular, due to the fact that he’s one of the wealthiest members of Congress. None has been more critical than Julie Oliver, the Democrat who’s seeking to unseat Williams in the November election.

“The SBA’s disclosure that @RepRWilliams took $1-2 million in bailouts for his personal business in TX-12 raises even more questions,” she wrote on Twitter, adding that “small business owners in #TX25 are really hurting.”

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The Paycheck Protection Program has proved to be a centerpiece of Congress’ coronavirus response, especially in dealing with the economic pain that has come with stay-at-home orders and other social distancing measures that have challenged businesses and workers.

More than 4.8 million loans — totaling nearly $519 billion — had been approved across the U.S. by the end of June, according to the SBA.

Many mom and pop shops have cited the fund as critical to their survival, particularly since the loans can be forgiven if a certain amount is used to maintain payroll. Indeed, the program was so popular early on, an initial $350 billion tranche ran out in a matter of days.

But the Paycheck Protection Program also raised immediate concerns, given the enormity of the fund, the lack of information about who exactly was receiving money, and the fact that Congress made the loans relatively easy to access in an effort to get the assistance out quickly.

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Williams only Texas congress member with PPP

To see if any Texans in Congress tapped the fund, The News in May queried a dozen lawmakers who, based on their financial disclosures, might have a business eligible for such a loan.

Williams was the only one who had done so. His main dealership, Roger Williams Chrysler Dodge Jeep in Weatherford, said the loan allowed it to “keep over 100 employees on payroll and prevent their families from experiencing further hardships during this unprecedented pandemic.”

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“The fact of the matter is we did everything on the up and up,” he said on Fox Business Network, adding that “there’s not enough business owners in Congress.”

“I didn’t personally benefit from it. I’ve got hundreds of employees, they benefited from it.”

Williams also noted that nothing in the legislation barred members of Congress from participating in the program, which processed loans on a first-come, first-served basis. The House Ethics Committee even issued guidance confirming that point.

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The Republican wasn’t the only lawmaker in the U.S. with ties to companies that accessed the fund, either.

The husband of Rep. Susie Lee, D-Nev., is the CEO of a casino developer that received a Paycheck Protection Program loan. The family of Rep. Vicky Hartzler, R-Mo., owns farms and equipment suppliers that likewise received small-business relief.

Those voluntary disclosures, prompted by media inquiries, raised the prospect that there might be others.

The Democrat-run House in late May sought to pass a bill under fast-track rules that would’ve required the SBA to identify each business that has received a loan worth more than $2 million. But it didn’t meet the two-thirds threshold needed for passage.

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Williams, who wouldn’t have been affected by the bill, was among the Republicans to vote against it.

Pressure to provide additional transparency nevertheless continued to build. So the Trump administration agreed to disclose basic information about all Paycheck Protection Program loans of $150,000 or more, representing less than 20% of the approved loans.

Political ties

The data released July 6 helped spotlight further political ties, spanning the ideological spectrum, in Texas and beyond.

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In Congress, Roy confirmed that he and his wife own a small stake in Austin-based Atlas Sand Co., which received a loan valued between $2 million and $5 million. He noted that neither he nor his wife “have any decision-making authority whatsoever in any of its financing or operational decisions.”

But the freshman lawmaker, who voted for the transparency bill, added that if the company fully qualified for the relief, “then it serves the purpose intended.”

On the campaign trail, West is a Dallas Democrat vying in a primary runoff to take on longtime Sen. John Cornyn, a Republican. West’s Dallas law firm, West & Associates, received a small-business loan valued between $150,000 and $350,000, helping to retain 17 jobs, per the SBA.

The state senator said he pursued the loan because he “wanted to make certain that we had the necessary resources to make those payrolls.” He said that if his law firm had not received the loan, he “would’ve had some tough choices to make.”

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Elsewhere in Dallas, an educational technology company known as Istation received aid worth between $2 million and $5 million, The Texas Tribune reported.

Genevieve Collins, a Republican seeking to defeat Rep. Colin Allred, D-Dallas, used to work for the company, which is run by her father. She also holds a sizable ownership stake in the firm through a trust fund, according to her financial disclosure.

Her campaign manager, Rob Costello, said Collins resigned from the company at the end of March — before the loan fund was active — in “order to focus her full attention and energy on her campaign.”

In Central Texas, Dr. Christine Mann is a Democrat battling in a primary runoff to take on longtime Rep. John Carter, R-Round Rock.

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Her campaign received a $28,000 loan through the program in May, according to KXAN-TV in Austin. While that amount was below the SBA’s disclosure threshold, the TV station noticed the loan on Mann’s latest campaign finance report.

Her campaign told KXAN-TV that Mann “wanted to ensure her staff continued to receive a livable wage” amid the pandemic. The loan was paid back a month later. The National Republican Congressional Committee said it was still a “slap in the face” to struggling small businesses.

The list goes on.

Patrick is the Texas lieutenant governor who is one of Trump’s top surrogates in the Lone Star State. His Houston company, Patrick Broadcasting, received a $179,000 loan, which a spokeswoman told The Associated Press allowed him to “save the jobs of all his employees.”

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Washburne, meanwhile, is the founder of Irving-based M Crowd Restaurant Group, which includes the likes of Mi Cocina. He’s a major Republican donor who served Trump for two years as head of the Overseas Private Investment Corp.

M Crowd received a small-business loan worth between $5 million and $10 million, helping it to retain hundreds of employees, according to the SBA.

Washburne, in a phone interview, rejected the notion that politics played any role, noting that he wasn’t aware of a restaurant in the area that didn’t seek the small-business relief. Now that the assistance has run out for him and many others, he said he’s worried about what comes next.

“If we didn’t get PPP money, you’re basically broke,” he said.