Finance Committee Republicans ask how American Rescue Plan funds bought spent

Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee requested an in depth report on how $350 billion in American Rescue Plan funds have been spent.

The committee claimed the Treasury Division just isn't being clear over how the funds are getting used and requested that the Authorities Accountability Workplace embody particulars on the funds utilized in all states, localities, territories, and tribes.

"Primarily based on a number of discussions with officers on the Division of the Treasury relating to obligations, expenditures, and makes use of of Coronavirus State and Native Fiscal Restoration Funds (SLFRFs) supplied for in ARPA, there stays inadequate info on particulars, and reporting that's publicly accessible to this point, which Treasury seems to take with informal indifference," the letter mentioned. "Due to the lack of understanding and transparency on makes use of of and accounting for these federal funds, we request that the Authorities Accountability Workplace (GAO) assist to make sure there's correct oversight of at the least $350 billion of ARPA funding and essential accountability to Congress and the American individuals."

The request additionally included questions for the GAO, together with how a lot oversight has been carried out by the Treasury Division into the usage of the funds and the way a taxpayer can view the report, whether or not the reporting necessities for the Treasury Division create undue burdens and inefficacy, and what controls the division has established that reported spending by states and localities abide by the restrictions on makes use of put in place within the American Rescue Plan Act, as an alternative of utilizing the funds for non-COVID-19-related functions.

Congress handed a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 reduction invoice to assist native, state, tribal, and federal governments soften the financial fallout from the pandemic, which included giving stimulus checks to residents who misplaced their jobs or had been unable to pay hire due to a scarcity of funds triggered by the pandemic.

The report request comes after President Joe Biden introduced that $10 billion of the American Rescue Plan funds has been devoted to strengthening public security final month after a number of mass shootings passed off throughout the nation. The cash can be utilized to rent extra law enforcement officials and different police sources akin to gear and automobiles.

“To each governor, each mayor, each county official, the necessity is evident, my message is evident: Spend this cash now. Use these funds we made accessible to you. Prioritize public security,” Biden mentioned final month, in accordance to NBC News. “Do it rapidly earlier than the summer season, when crime charges usually surge.”