Stimulus aid for 'small business' will go to some big chains

FILE - In this Friday, March 27, 2020 file photo, a man walks past the closed Cafe Du Monde restaurant in the French Quarter of New Orleans. It's normally bustling with tourists, but now nearly deserted due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. While rich in history and culture, New Orleans is economically poor, and many here are not necessarily well-positioned to weather this latest storm. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Lauren Friel, owner of Rebel Rebel Wine Bar, in Somerville, Mass., stands for a portrait at the wine bar, Thursday, April 2, 2020. An Associated Press review of the small business aid passed by Congress as part of its coronavirus stimulus package shows that larger companies could quickly claim a disproportionate share of the money, squeezing out many small, locally-based businesses. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Lauren Friel, owner of Rebel Rebel Wine Bar, in Somerville, Mass., stands for a portrait at the wine bar, Thursday, April 2, 2020. An Associated Press review of the small business aid passed by Congress as part of its coronavirus stimulus package shows that larger companies could quickly claim a disproportionate share of the money, squeezing out many small, locally-based businesses. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

FILE - In this Monday, March 30, 2020 file photo, Phu Dang, left, the owner of i5 Pho restaurant, gets help from a contractor as he boards up his business in Seattle's downtown Pioneer Square neighborhood. Dang closed his business to dine-in customers earlier in the month and had tried doing takeout only food in response to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, but he said his location did not attract enough customers for take out and he decided to fully close for the time being. He said his decision to board up came after a nearby business was broken into over the weekend. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

FILE - This Saturday, March 28, 2020 file photo shows a sign on a liquor store announcing it is closing to keep the neighborhood safe and slow down the COVID-19 coronavirus in Indianapolis. Under Indiana's stay at home order, liquor stores are considered an essential business and are allowed to remain open. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

FILE - This Wednesday, April 1, 2020 file photo shows the marquee for the Iowa Theater, closed in response to the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak, on John Wayne Drive in Winterset, Iowa. The $349 billion program approved by Congress to help small businesses devastated by the coronavirus outbreak is expected to be spent quickly after it opens on Friday, April 3, 2020, in part because large franchisees and multi-property companies are poised to claim a disproportionate share as soon as the money starts flowing. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

FILE - In this Tuesday, March 31, 2020 file photo, Vincent Amos, who identified himself as homeless, pulls a shopping cart with his belongings amid businesses closed by concerns of the COVID-19 coronavirus in the Deep Ellum section of Dallas. Amos said his shelter in place routine includes walking the area looking for work cleaning windows. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

FILE - In this Friday, March 20, 2020 file photo, Carlos Vasquez, left, and his nephew, R.J. Vasquez, wait for customers at their family's barber shop in Houston. They estimate they have lost nearly half of their business due to the COVID-19 coronavirus. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

FILE - In this Wednesday, March 18, 2020 file photo, Peck's Food owner Theodore Peck reaches out to a customer through window glass while closing his storefront coffee shop and bakery due to the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak in the Clinton Hill neighborhood of the Brooklyn borough of New York. "I really love my employees and the fact that I didn't get to say goodbye to twenty two of them?" said Peck who was in quarantine pending a negative COVID-19 test. "I wrote them letters and emails and, you know, reached out and have donated. But I mean, there's no recourse for being able to say I was in quarantine. I only had like an hour meeting with my staff and my managers before I knew it was going to happen." (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

Lauren Friel, owner of Rebel Rebel Wine Bar, in Somerville, Mass., stands for a portrait at the wine bar, Thursday, April 2, 2020. An Associated Press review of the small business aid passed by Congress as part of its coronavirus stimulus package shows that larger companies could quickly claim a disproportionate share of the money, squeezing out many small, locally-based businesses. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)