The recently passed Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security bill, or CARES Act, allocated $669 billion to aid small businesses impacted by the novel coronavirus that has devastated our economy. There has already been controversy surrounding the distribution of these funds and several large companies have returned loans intended for small businesses or healthcare providers following public outcry.
To help researchers keep track of how the CARES Act money is being allocated, the non-profit Good Jobs First has launched the COVID Stimulus Watch website. The site also draws on other Good Jobs First resources to present a summary of each recipient’s history of regulatory violations, prior government assistance, tax avoidance issues and CEO pay.
The database draws from filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission to track which public companies have reported receiving loans and grants under various CARES Act programs. The database also includes several awards to private companies that have been announced in press releases. Moreover, if the Treasury Department, Federal Reserve and Small Business Administration eventually release bulk data about CARES Act recipients, the database will incorporate that information as well.
Good Jobs First provides additional accountability information about CARES Act recipients by integrating their Violation Tracker into the search engine. This database includes employment-related penalties (such as wage theft and workplace discrimination); government-contracting related penalties (mainly False Claims Act cases); environmental, healthcare and safety penalties (EPA, OSHA); and consumer protection, financial misconduct and unfair competition penalties. In addition, the COVID Stimulus Watch database includes information from the organization’s Subsidy and Tax Break Trackers, which show large companies that received taxpayer-funded financial assistance or paid very low federal income tax rates. The database also includes details on which recipient companies have high levels of executive compensation, as compared to the pay of the typical employee.
The tracking and accountability of taxpayer dollars spent under the CARE Act will undoubtedly be an evolving and important process. Good Jobs First has offered a valuable resource to help get that effort underway.