WASHINGTON-House Committee on Oversight and Reform Ranking Member James Comer (R-Ky.) today issued the following statement after Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) announced the markup of a $350 billion bailout for state and local governments and $570 million for additional paid leave for federal employees and postal workers, which is part of the Democrats’ budget reconciliation scheme.
“Democrats’ plan to bail out locked-down, poorly managed liberal states is unfair to American taxpayers and is ripe for waste, fraud, and abuse. More money should not be provided to liberal states that closed businesses, schools, and churches, which placed their residents in greater economic, physical, and mental harm. Additionally, Congress already provided states and local governments with pandemic relief funding and questions remain about how much of those funds have been spent and if they were used appropriately. We need those answers before Congress even considers adding more money to our country’s already massive debt. Responsible governing calls for accountability and transparency before and after the government writes a check. Unfortunately, Democrats have failed to live up to this responsibility by hastily rushing this enormous bailout through the committee.
“It’s also unfair to the American people to provide an additional 600 hours of paid leave on top of regular paid leave to federal workers who already enjoy many work perks. The Democrats’ priorities are incredibly distorted given that many small businesses are struggling and millions of Americans are unemployed."
Last week, Ranking Member Comer called on Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Treasury Deputy Inspector General Richard Delmar to provide the Oversight Committee with an update on the remaining balance of the Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) passed as part of the CARES Act. Congress provided $150 billion to the CRF for state and local governments to cover pandemic-related expenses and it is unclear how much of the funds have been spent so far and whether the funds used met the letter of the law. The information requested has not yet been provided by the Department of Treasury and Office of the Inspector General.
