With hundreds of billions of dollars out the door, Congress slowly begins oversight of CV spending

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Economic Policy

With hundreds of billions of dollars out the door, Congress slowly begins oversight of coronavirus spending

Inspector general nominee will testify before Senate panel Tuesday, but other efforts to scrutinize funding have gotten off to slow start

By Erica Werner
May 5, 2020 at 7:00 a.m. EDT

Senate Democrats plan to press White House lawyer Brian Miller on Tuesday about his ability to act independently of President Trump if he is confirmed as a new inspector general, setting up one of Congress’s first clashes about the government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Miller, who is currently senior associate counsel of the Office of White House Counsel, played a role in defending Trump during the recent impeachment inquiry. Trump has nominated him to serve as Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery. This would place him in charge of overseeing a roughly $500 billion Treasury fund created as part of Congress’s $2 trillion Cares Act in late March.

In a four paragraph opening statement to the Senate Banking Committee released Monday afternoon, Miller promised to carry out his duties “with fairness and impartiality” and be independent and fair. But Democrats have said they are concerned that he might pull his punches as the Treasury Department decides how to quickly disburse all the taxpayer funds.

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Erica Werner
Erica Werner has worked at The Washington Post since 2017, covering Congress with a focus on economic policy. Previously, she worked at the Associated Press for more than 17 years. Follow https://twitter.com/ericawerner

[CrispyQ]

1. The looting has just begun.

They realize the Con will lose in November. If they can't find a way to steal the election, they are going to steal the Treasury. Biden will be left with a mess even bigger than the one Obama was left with.