The Treasury Department on Monday released the names of more than 26,000 businesses or organizations based in Pennsylvania that received funds from a federal program intended to support the economy as states shut down to stem the spread of the coronavirus.
The Treasury only identified borrowers that got more than $150,000. So far, that is about one-quarter of the more than 97,000 entities from Pennsylvania that borrowed money from the federal program.
The average loan amount for the entire program was $107,000, the Treasury Department said in a broad summary of the program.
The government handed out $521 billion through the Paycheck Protection Program, a crucial piece of the government’s $2 trillion rescue package. The loans can be forgiven if the businesses mostly use the money to continue paying their workers. The program initially was set to expire June 30 but was extended last week to Aug. 8.
The public may never know the identity of more than 80% of the nearly 5 million beneficiaries to date because the Trump administration has refused to release details on loans under $150,000. That secrecy spurred a lawsuit by news organizations including The Associated Press.
