“What Congress must understand — and what we are shouting in unison today — is that this is not a big city problem; it’s an every city problem,” said Mayor Bryan
K. Barnett of Rochester Hills, Mich., who is also president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
Even if states are able to stretch their finances temporarily to cover short-term budget shortfalls, the economic recovery is expected to be slow. That means tax revenues from tourism, oil and gas drilling, conventions and other activities are unlikely to bounce back swiftly.
Small business loans are flowing to construction companies, while hotels and restaurants are losing out.
Restaurants and hotels, which have taken the largest economic hit so far from the pandemic, have received less than one-tenth of the special federal assistance for small businesses that Mr. Trump approved earlier this month.
A presentation from the Small Business Administration, shared with members of Congress on Tuesday, shows more than one million loans totaling nearly $250 billion have been approved, out of the $350 billion allocated for the program. Those figures match the numbers that Larry Kudlow, the director of the National Economic Council, shared with reporters on Tuesday at the White House.
The loans are allocated on a first-come, first-serve basis, in a process that has given an advantage to businesses with existing lender relationships and the resources to navigate the government application process. If borrowers abide by certain conditions, including spending the bulk of the money on employee payroll, they will never have to pay back the money.
The S.B.A. report breaks down those loans by industry and by state. It shows that construction companies have garnered the largest share of the money thus far: nearly $34 billion, which is about 14 percent of the total. The next largest share went to professional, scientific and technical services firms, followed by manufacturers and health care companies.
“Accommodation and food services” borrowers rank fifth, with just under $23 billion in loans.
The geographic flow of the funds is not lining up thus far with the economic damage from the virus. The largest recipient state is Texas, which has secured 88,400 loans worth nearly $22 billion, followed by California with $21 billion. New York companies have secured less than half as many loans as Texas companies, worth about $12 billion in total.