The federal government on Monday identified roughly 650,000 of the mostly small businesses and nonprofits that received taxpayer money through a program designed to lessen job losses from the coronavirus. On the other hand, some critics contend the program benefited wealthy, well-connected companies and firms.

The Treasury Department listed just a fraction of the total borrowers for the federal Payroll Protection Program, naming only companies that got more than $150,000.

Those firms made up less than 15 percent of the nearly 5 million small companies and organizations that received a share of the government-backed $659 billion in low-interest business loans that will be forgiven if employers use the money on payroll, rent and similar expenses. Statewide, about one-sixth of the more than 165,000 entities from Pennsylvania that borrowed money received $150,000 or more.

Closer to home, 429 businesses in Butler County received loans ranging from $150,000 to $10 million for a total of between $136.65 million and $324 million in federal aid that helped save nearly 17,900 local jobs. This number does not include loans of less than $150,000.

Companies typically must have fewer than 500 workers to qualify. The average loan amount was about $107,000, according to the Treasury Department.

Some critics argued “well-connected” businesses owned by politicians benefited from the program.

One business-owner-turned-politician cited Monday was U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly. His car dealerships were four of the 26,000 Pennsylvania businesses listed in government records as receiving taxpayer money from a federal COVID-19 relief program.

Kelly's name was on four companies that received a combined total between $600,000 and $1.4 million from the federal Payroll Protection Program, according to data released by the U.S. Small Business Administration, which manages funding for the loan.

Kelly, R-16th, stepped down from the day-to-day operations of the family business when he joined Congress in 2011.

“In accordance with congressional ethics rules, Rep. Kelly is not involved in the day-to-day operations of his auto dealerships and was not part of the discussions between the business and the PPP lender,” said Andrew Eisenberger, communications director for Kelly.

Eisenberger said Kelly's “small family business” employs more than 200 Western Pennsylvanians, all of whom were put at risk by Gov. Tom Wolf's shutdown of businesses in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

The data showed Kelly's three Butler businesses — including Kelly Chevrolet Cadillac, Mike Kelly Automotive and Mike Kelly Hyundai — all received between $150,000 to $300,000 each, as did Mike Kelly Toyota in Uniontown.

“The Paycheck Protection Program was designed to sustain the income of workers who would otherwise have been without pay or employment at no fault of their own during the coronavirus pandemic, and organizations in which members of Congress have an ownership stake were not prohibited from receiving PPP loans to help their employees during this difficult time,” Eisenberger said.

In a statement, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. — who is chairman of the Senate's Small Business Committee, which crafted the program — said the release of the data provided “much needed transparency.” He called the program “a historic lifeline” for small businesses during the pandemic.

Prominent among those businesses are full-service restaurant owners, receiving more loans — almost 6,000 — as a business sector than any other in Pennsylvania, according to an Associated Press analysis.

Religious organizations, including churches, received more than 4,000, while law firms, dentists' offices and insurance and real estate agents or brokerages each landed more than 3,000 loans. Limited-service restaurant owners were right behind them, receiving more than 2,900 loans.

The federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Securities Act set aside funding for the Small Business Association to issue loans to help them stay afloat during the pandemic. The PPP Loan has been one of the more heavily used sources of relief.

As of June 30, the program had handed out $521 billion. With money still available, Congress voted to extend the program just as it was expiring, setting a new date of Aug. 8.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.