House Budget Republicans Highlight Billions in Misspent Tax Dollars Under Biden Bailout Bill, Make Case for Oversight Hearing on Democrat Spending Bill
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, House Budget Committee Republican Leader Jason Smith (MO-08), joined by his Republican colleagues on the Committee, cited over a dozen examples of how billions of taxpayer dollars have been misspent by states and localities since the Biden Bailout Bill was passed in March and called on House Budget Committee Chairman John Yarmuth (KY-03) to follow U.S. House & Committee Rules to convene an oversight hearing on implementation of the law.“Despite passing $7 trillion in new spending this year alone, House Democrats have not only managed to underdeliver on their promises but have made life more difficult for ordinary Americans. We are witnessing the highest spike in prices in forty years as a result of reckless Democrat spending, as well as rampant fraud and abuse of tax dollars their spending has enabled – most notably from the $2 trillion Biden Bailout Bill. The American people deserve an explanation from House Democrats about where their hard-earned tax dollars have gone, and how Democrats will prevent future fraud in the wake of this historic partisan spending spree,” said House Budget Committee Republican Leader Jason Smith.
House Budget Democrats have failed to hold a single oversight hearing this year. Meanwhile, House Budget Republicans have sent multiple requests for information to Biden Administration senior officials, including “rescue czar” Gene Sperling – who is tasked with implementing and overseeing the distribution of trillions of American taxpayer dollars in the Biden Bailout Bill – citing numerous examples of waste and abuse that so far remain unanswered.
“The Democrat Majority is quick to usher through bills with enormous price tags, but this eagerness is lacking when it comes to shrewd management and oversight of taxpayer dollars. Unfortunately, the bipartisan warnings of waste and abuse of all this spending have come true. As if fueling the inflationary fires through more government spending wasn’t painful enough, the public record shows what this massive expansion of government has been all about. In a bill where less than 9% of the total funding actually went to public health spending to combat COVID-19, we have found numerous troubling examples of how ‘COVID-19 relief’ taxpayer dollars are being spent,” wrote House Budget Republicans in a letter to House Budget Committee Chairman Yarmuth.
Examples include:
• Upwards of $2 billion sent to nonexistent county governments in states such as Connecticut and Rhode Island. The city of Providence, Rhode Island is using some of its funds to revamp a park by building a new visitors’ center and bike share.
• Fort Bend County, Texas spending $157 million from the Biden Bailout Bill on a multimillion-dollar courtroom expansion, new government buildings and vehicles, and government audio-visual tools, despite the County Judge’s objection that this spending included “many items that have little or nothing to do with helping the county recover from the pandemic.”
• The city of Syracuse, New York’s plan to spend $2 million of federal taxpayer dollars to plant 3,600 trees.
• The city of Chicago spending $31 million to create a guaranteed income program.
• Japanese citizens living in Japan receiving $1,400 stimulus checks from the U.S. government. Up to 70,000 foreign nationals who at one time lived in the U.S. may have qualified for these checks.
• Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s proposal to spend $250 million of the state’s “COVID relief” money upgrading state parks and trails. Additionally, the state of Michigan sent $3,200 stimulus checks to thousands of convicted inmates.
• The city of Norwich, Connecticut using its federal “COVID relief” dollars to develop luxury apartments.
• Horry County, South Carolina’s plan to use $4 million to build new parking lots and bathrooms at the beach.
• Countless school districts spending “COVID relief” dollars on new weight rooms, turf fields, and resurfaced outdoor tracks.
• Palm Beach Gardens, Florida’s plan for a taxpayer-funded $16.8 million golf course, driving range, and clubhouse.
• Maine’s plan to spend $16 million in “COVID relief” to improve its fishing industry and millions more to update its state parks and provide electric vehicle charging stations.
Read the letter HERE.
Visit HERE for more examples of misspending and abuse in the Biden Bailout Bill
