Idaho Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin accepted $314,727 under the Paycheck Protection Program, a federal coronavirus relief program, records show.
Three months later, she wrote an op-ed published in newspapers across the state criticizing those “who advocate socialized medicine, unearned income, and other handouts … that foster dependency.”
The money was offered to employers under the $2.2 trillion coronavirus aid bill passed by Congress in March. PPP was an emergency program aimed at keeping workers on the job at taxpayer expense at a time when revenue for many employers had collapsed. The money was provided as loans to be forgiven if the recipients showed that most of it was spent on payroll.