The Guv, PPP vs student loans

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves has voiced opposition to President Joe Biden's now-defeated plan to forgive $10,000 in student loan debts for most federal borrowers. 

Meanwhile, businesses with close ties to the first-term Republican have had more than half a million dollars in federal loans forgiven in recent years.

Reeves, who in 2022 called student forgiveness "unfair and unwise," repeated those criticisms again after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Biden's forgiveness plan.

Yet, a company that Reeves is a co-owner of and another that employs his wife, First Lady Elee Reeves, benefited greatly from loan forgiveness under the pandemic-era Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). 

PPP loans were meant to keep employees on payrolls as businesses were closed in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the Clarion Ledger's PPP loan database, businesses with direct ties to the Reeves family were among borrowers. 

Southern Air Conditioning Supply Inc., of Pearl, received $189,600 from the federal government. Southern Air Conditioning Supply is owned and operated by Reeves' father, Terry Reeves. Staffers have said the governor has no day-to-day role with the company, but the governor's recent statement of economic interest with the Mississippi Ethics Commission the younger Reeves continues to list himself as an "owner." Southern Air Conditioning Supply had its full loan forgiven, including interest: $191,216.87. 

Coker and Palmer LLC, a Jackson financial firm where Elee Reeves is a financial advisor, received $344,010 from the federal government. 

Reeves also lists Coker and Palmer on his statement of economic interest, as his spouse's employer. Coker and Palmer also had its full loan forgiven, including interest: $346,255.62. 

A spokesperson for Reeves did not respond to requests for comment for this story. 

According to the Small Business Administration's data, Reeves was one of at least eight governors (of both parties) to have close ties to businesses that received loan forgiveness. 

One key distinction between the PPP loan program and student loans is how the two go about potential forgiveness. 

PPP forgiveness stipulations were written into the law from the outset, meaning most businesses knew if they followed the rules their loans would be forgiven. 

For student loans, no clear forgiveness mechanism exists for most borrowers. The administration's attempts at forgiveness went through executive orders rather than via acts of Congress. (Clarion Ledger 07/16/23) See how much companies close to Tate Reeves had forgiven in PPP loans (clarionledger.com)