Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee requested a detailed report on how $350 billion in American Rescue Plan funds have been spent.
The committee claimed the Treasury Department is not being transparent over how the funds are being used and requested that the Government Accountability Office include details on the funds used in all states, localities, territories, and tribes.
“Based on several discussions with officials at the Department of the Treasury regarding obligations, expenditures, and uses of Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRFs) provided for in ARPA, there remains insufficient information on details, and reporting that is publicly available to date, which Treasury appears to take with casual indifference,” the letter said. “Because of the lack of information and transparency on uses of and accounting for these federal funds, we request that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) help to ensure there is proper oversight of at least $350 billion of ARPA funding and necessary accountability to Congress and the American people.”
The request also included questions for the GAO, including how much oversight has been done by the Treasury Department into the use of the funds and how a taxpayer can view the report, whether the reporting requirements for the Treasury Department create undue burdens and inefficacy, and what controls the department has established that reported spending by states and localities abide by the restrictions on uses put in place in the American Rescue Plan Act, instead of using the funds for non-COVID-19-related purposes.
Congress passed a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill to help local, state, tribal, and federal governments soften the economic fallout from the pandemic, which included giving stimulus checks to citizens who lost their jobs or were unable to pay rent because of a lack of funds triggered by the pandemic.
The report request comes after President Joe Biden announced that $10 billion of the American Rescue Plan funds has been dedicated to strengthening public safety last month after multiple mass shootings took place across the country. The money can be used to hire more police officers and other police resources such as equipment and cars.
“To every governor, every mayor, every county official, the need is clear, my message is clear: Spend this money now. Use these funds we made available to you. Prioritize public safety,” Biden said last month, according to NBC News. “Do it quickly before the summer, when crime rates typically surge.”
