(Reuters) – Businesses in Texas and California, the two largest U.S. states, have grabbed the biggest slices of the $247.5 billion so far allocated through a new federal government program to help small firms weather the coronavirus pandemic, data from the agency running the program showed on Tuesday.
Some $21.8 billion under the Paycheck Protection Program has been allocated to businesses in Texas, the second-biggest U.S. state, according to data from the Small Business Administration. California businesses applying for the grants won a total of $20.9 billion, the data showed. In all, the SBA will distribute $349 billion to small businesses under the program, and the Trump administration is negotiating with Congress over adding $250 billion to the pot.
(Reporting by Ann Saphir; Editing by Leslie Adler)
