Christopher A. Rossi Quoted in Fortune Article, '14 Years in 14 Days: Inside the Chaotic Rollout of the SBA's PPP Loan Plan to Save America's Small Businesses'
Christopher A. Rossi, a partner in the Corporate and Securities Practice Group of the Commercial Department of Pepper Hamilton, the chair of the firm's SBIC practice and a co-chair of the firm’s Private Fund Services Group, was quoted in the April 29, 2020 Fortune article, " 14 Years in 14 Days: Inside the Chaotic Rollout of the SBA’s PPP Loan Plan to Save America’s Small Businesses."
Carve-outs written into the nearly 900-page CARES Act by Congress allowed larger companies and franchises in industries like hospitality and restaurants to receive funds, so long as they did not have more than 500 employees per location. "Clearly, people have seats at the table when legislation is being written," notes Christopher Rossi, a partner who focuses on small business investment companies (SBICs) at law firm Pepper Hamilton.
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One area largely excluded from these waivers was private equity. Private equity trade groups including the American Investment Council (AIC) and the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) lobbied heavily early on to include private equity–backed companies in the $349 billion PPP round, arguing against certain affiliate rules that apply to regular SBA loans. Private equity is what Pepper Hamilton’s Rossi characterizes as a "disfavored political group."