UPDATE: Cunningham Statement on Kiawah Island Community Association’s Decision to Return $1 Million PPP Loan

UPDATE: Rep. Joe Cunningham released the following statement after the Kiawah Island Community Association announced its decision to return the $1 million coronavirus loan they obtained through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Cunningham called on the community association to return their loan earlier today:

“I’m glad to see Kiawah Island Community Association do the right thing and return the $1 million PPP loan they received. Congress approved the spending of billions of dollars in taxpayer money to help small businesses weather this storm and keep paychecks going to their employees, not pad the pocketbooks of giant corporations or wealthy community associations that have millions of dollars in reserve. We must now get this money into the hands of the Lowcountry small businesses and workers who desperately need relief.”

-Original Post Below-

Rep. Joe Cunningham (SC-01) today called on Kiawah Island Community Association to return the $1 million coronavirus loan they obtained through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Congress established the PPP as part of the bipartisan Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to aid small businesses in weathering this crisis and retaining their workforce.

“I am incredibly disappointed that Kiawah Island Community Association took advantage of a program that was designed to offer a lifeline to struggling small businesses,” Cunningham said. “When Congress approved spending billions of dollars of taxpayer money to help small businesses and their workers survive this crisis, it wasn’t meant for giant corporations with deep pockets or wealthy community associations with millions of dollars in reserve funds.”

“Every week, I talk to countless Lowcountry small business owners who desperately need relief and have not yet been able to receive it, folks like the Lowdown Oven and Bar on James Island or Church Mouse Thrift Shop on Hilton Head,” Cunningham continued. “We are a close-knit community here in the Lowcountry, and so when one of us suffers, we all suffer. Kiawah Island Community Association should return this loan immediately so that this relief can go where it was intended, to a struggling small business trying to keep the lights on and paychecks going to their employees.”

For more information, read The Post & Courier’s story.

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