February 15, 2022

ICYMI Smith Op-Ed: More COVID Money Won't Cover Up Biden's Failures

According to recent reporting, the Biden Administration is preparing to ask Congress for additional so-called "COVID relief" spending. In a recent Fox News op-ed, House Budget Committee Republican Leader Jason Smith (MO-08) lays out the case for why Congress should not give the Biden White House another dime in "COVID relief" to help clean up - or cover up - the mess they created.

Key Points

The Biden Administration has established a track record of waste and mismanagement starting with the $1.9 trillion Biden Bailout Bill supposedly passed for "COVID-19 relief":
  • Only 9% of the bill was spent to combat the virus via public health spending.
  • Much of the other 91% became a slush fund for state and local governments. Billions were spent on things such as parking lots in South Carolina, trees in New York, golf courses and clubhouses, and stimulus checks for convicted prisoners and Japanese citizens living in Japan.
The Biden Administration even diverted some of the public health money to house the surge of illegal immigrants at the southern border as a result of the President's weakened border policies:
  • $850 million from COVID-19 testing
  • $151 million from building a supply chain for vaccines and therapeutics
  • $850 million from replenishing the National Strategic Stockpile
It was revealed in a Senate hearing in January that the Administration didn't order any new COVID-19 tests between January and September of last year, fueling Biden's COVID crisis.

While claiming more money is needed to fix the problem they allowed to fester, Democrats have blocked attempts by Republicans to learn how, when, and where previous COVID-19 funding has been spent. Excerpt: "Yet despite such failures, the Biden Administration is now reportedly thinking of asking Congress for even more hard-earned taxpayer dollars under the guise of COVID-19...But failing to answers simple questions as to how their last 'COVID-19' spending binge has seemingly left our country less equipped to handle the virus, is the very reason not another dime of so-called 'COVID relief' dollars should be handed over to this White House, regardless of how noble the cause may sound." Read the full op-ed here.