A Houston man has pleaded guilty Monday to federal charges for getting more than $1.6 million in Paycheck Protection Program loans, designed to help struggling small businesses pay their employees and stay afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mann took out and paid back a Paycheck Protection Program loan for her U.S. House campaign. Dr. Christine Eady Mann confirmed to The Texas Tribune on Monday a KXAN report that she took out a $28,600 Paycheck Protection Program loan for her campaign. Her campaign paid the loan back last month. Mann said her campaign paid the money back, and her most recent campaign finance report verifies that on June 23 her campaign paid the bank $28,600 in an itemized disbursement labeled "Paycheck Protection Program." Disclosure: The Texas Tribune, as a nonprofit local newsroom and a small business, applied for and received a loan through the Paycheck Protection Program in the amount of $1,116,626.

AUSTIN, Texas Texas Republican Lt. Gov. Patrick Broadcasting received a loan of $179,000 from the federal Paycheck Protection Program, according to Patrick spokeswoman Sherry Sylvester. The Paycheck Protection Program is the centerpiece of the federal governments plan to rescue an economy devastated by shutdowns and uncertainty. Meanwhile, several hundred companies traded on stock exchanges received loans maxing out at $10 million each, causing a public backlash and leading dozens to return the money. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.