This study estimates that at least $5.3 billion in CARES Act money went to 611 portfolio companies owned or backed by private equity firms that held $908 billion in cash reserves.
The next COVID response legislation, must include clear conditions for all companies that receive Federal financial support that require worker retention and protection as well as limitations that ensure that government money will not be used to profit corporate insiders and Wall Street speculators.
We strongly urge that Congress strengthen the oversight and anti-corruption measures over the $3 trillion and growing Coronavirus relief legislative programs. Our organizations represent broad and diverse constituencies across the ideological spectrum concerned about the potential for fraud, waste and abuse of the nation’s largest spending packages in history.
It’s crucial the new House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis start oversight work as soon as possible. By doing so, the Subcommittee can make recovery efforts more effective and guarantee that government agencies are good stewards of public money.
The Fed must aggressively attempt to retain institutional credibility as a neutral actor in our economic order with regards to the distributional effects of its policies. It should not help finance a merger wave that leads to large-scale consolidation of companies which would have been healthy competitors but for temporary impacts of the current crisis.
Joint letter asking FHFA, HUD, VA and USDA to provide tenants with a mechanism to identify whether their apartment, home, or manufactured housing is covered by the tenant protections in the CARES Act
Coalition letter to FHA on clarifying and improving protections for borrowers facing hardship related to covid-19.
Americans for Financial Reform released a set of financial policy recommendations for Congress to fix the problems and loopholes in the CARES Act, to further protect and support individuals, families and communities in the face of this crisis, and to lay the groundwork for an equitable and sustainable economic recovery.
Note: On the afternoon this letter was sent the Federal Reserve announced it would be providing additional transparency in 13(3) facilities. See our comment linked here for earlier AFR Edcucation Fund communications with the Federal Reserve on this issue. Download a pdf of the letter
AFR joined 39 other organizations urging Congress to staff the five-member panel tasked with monitoring the corporate bailout with members who have experience with oversight and/or investigations and have proven commitment to principles of transparency and accountability.