That reinforced concerns that lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have had for months about too much aid going to well-financed corporations under what was sold as a small business program. The timing of the disclosure could have a significant impact as Congress debates passing economic relief legislation before the end of the year.

"Without deliberate action from Congress, large companies will continue to dominate, while small firms are left behind," House Small Business Chair Nydia Velazquez (D-N.Y.) told POLITICO. She said the SBA revelation highlights the need for Congress to set aside funding for the smallest of small businesses and community lenders.

The Paycheck Protection Program had a crush of applicants when it launched in early April following lockdowns across the country. Demand was overwhelming in large part because borrowers would be allowed to turn the loans into grants if they promised to maintain their payrolls. It covered businesses with 500 employees or less, but also allowed even larger restaurant and hotel chains to apply. Those conditions allowed many sizeable companies to apply even if they weren't expected to be major beneficiaries.

The new disclosure puts added pressure on lawmakers as they ramp up discussions about how to relaunch the PPP, which stopped lending in August, and to expand the ongoing EIDL program. It's unclear if the negotiations will be successful given bigger political fights over coronavirus relief. But the small business programs have enjoyed wide bipartisan support and are expected to be in any deal that comes to fruition.

The data that the SBA released late Tuesday came after a court battle with news organizations that sued the agency after it refused to disclose aid recipients in response to Freedom of Information Act requests. The SBA had previously only disclosed the names of PPP borrowers with loans of $150,000 or more, and it had not revealed specific dollar amounts for any loan.

The data showed for the first time that more than 600 PPP loans were issued for $10 million, which was the program's individual loan cap. Among the well-known businesses that took the maximum-size loans were big chains, such as P.F. Chang's China Bistro and Potbelly, and major law firms like Boies Schiller Flexner. Kanye West's company, Yeezy, received a loan for nearly $2.4 million.

Even that data was incomplete. Thanks to an early political backlash, some major businesses that took loans, such as Shake Shack and the Los Angeles Lakers, returned the money. Tuesday's disclosure did not include canceled loans.

The benefits flowing to big corporations became a major controversy not long after the PPP started up on April 3. Early demand for the loans outpaced funding and many small businesses were initially left on the sidelines. Congress later replenished funding, and the program had nearly $134 billion left over when its lending authority expired on Aug. 8.

That experience focused lawmakers' attention on ensuring that the smallest businesses — in particular those owned by people of color — would get priority if Congress restarted the program. A big part of the concern has centered on the structure of the PPP, which relies on banks and other lenders to issue the loans on behalf of the SBA. That framework left some businesses that lacked banking relationships at a disadvantage.

The next wave of small business relief, if agreed to, is expected to allow businesses that took PPP loans to apply for a second round of money to help maintain payroll and operations during the worsening pandemic.

Larger businesses that stayed on strong financial footing during the outbreak would likely be left out. Republicans and Democrats are negotiating legislation that would lower the PPP's 500-employee cap and require businesses to show a substantial revenue loss to receive aid. Lawmakers have proposed banning publicly traded companies from being able to access the program a second time.

This week, a bipartisan group of lawmakers, including Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W. Va.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine), called for $288 billion in small business relief including money for PPP and EIDL. They also proposed $12 billion for community lenders. A separate Senate Republican proposal backed by Senate Small Business Chair Marco Rubio of Florida has $332.7 billion for small business programs, including $257.7 billion for a second round of PPP.

Rubio's committee counterpart, Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), also wants more funding for EIDL that would let businesses go directly to the government for aid rather than banks.

“The data released by SBA confirms that the next COVID-19 relief bill must target aid to the vulnerable small businesses that were unable to access the first round of PPP, it must provide grants and low-interest disaster loans, and it must support hardest hit industries, including restaurants and live venues," Cardin said.

For advocates for new small business aid, the tensions over funding have triggered concerns that Congress may be headed for a repeat of the early days of the PPP when struggling employers were further stressed by whether they would be able to obtain a loan before the money was gone.

“We saw earlier in the year how toxic it was when PPP funding ran out when demand was still present," said John Lettieri, president and CEO of the Economic Innovation Group. "That situation has to be avoided at all costs, especially now when we’re entering what could be as severe a period as we’ve seen for small business demand since the crisis started.”

While the new SBA data grabbed attention because of the share of funds that went to well-heeled businesses, for some lawmakers the data underscored the need to provide additional help to employers that took out the smallest loans.

One idea that has gained traction is to give those businesses — specifically those with loans under $150,000 — an easier pathway to PPP loan forgiveness. According to the new PPP data, that would cover about 87 percent of borrowers.

"We have to remember the vast, vast, vast majority of these loans were very, very small and were to people who genuinely needed them," said Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.), who has proposed legislation to make it easier to convert smaller PPP loans into grants. "I've had so many people who have called our office and said, 'I don't know what I would have done, my husband would have done, my family would have done without the ability to keep the doors open.'"