Lawmakers say airline contractors laid off more than 9,000 despite $728 million in federal aid

Three House Democrats on Wednesday slammed airline contractors that laid off more than 9,000 employees despite accepting millions in federal coronavirus aid. The lawmakers asked Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to stop aid to the companies or ask for some of the funds back. Congress set aside $32b in payroll support to the ailing airline industry in the $2.2t CARES Act in March. Of that sum, $3b was set aside for contractors like caterers. The terms of the aid, which was mostly grants, prohibited recipients from laying workers off through Sept. 30. “We urge Treasury to stop providing taxpayer-funded payroll support for workers that have been laid off and to recover any funds that were inappropriately awarded,” wrote Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., chairman of a subcommittee on the coronavirus crisis, Rep. Peter DeFazio, chair of the House of Representative’s transportation and infrastructure committee and Rep. Maxine Waters, chairwoman of the financial services committee, in a letter to Mnuchin. The lawmakers said they have started an investigation into the aid to contractors and said they found at least 12 that accepted more than $720m in government support after laying off about 9,300 people.<br/>