Newsy investigation finds bureaucratic blunders block small business relief
By: Patrick Terpstra
and last updated 2021-05-20 10:57:14-04
Terri Senecal co-owns the Sacchetti Music shop in Huntingtown, Maryland. Like so many small business owners, she has struggled to stay open through the pandemic. It s been horrible, Senecal said. I don t want to close the store and put 14 people on unemployment.
In April, the U.S. Small Business Administration invited Senecal to apply for a new round of federal COVID aid, up to $10,000 she would not need to pay back.
She went for it.
Weeks later the SBA rejected her application with a weird explanation. The agency told her one reason she didnât qualify was she had failed to pay child support.