“We have sent trillions of dollars out into our communities - they should be going to small businesses and not corporations; our workers, not the wealthy and those already well-off.”
WASHINGTON — On the House Floor today, Rules Committee Chairman James P. McGovern (D-MA) led debate on a rule establishing the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis. This select subcommittee would ensure that the more than $2 trillion dollars in emergency relief passed by Congress to confront this pandemic is well spent; without waste, fraud, profiteering, or price gouging. It will also press that the federal response is based on the best possible science and guided by our nation’s leading health experts. The subcommittee will be empowered to examine all aspects of the federal response.
Excerpts from Chairman McGovern’s remarks are below, video of his full remarks is available here:
“M. Speaker, we are here today as Congress continues responding to the biggest public health and economic emergency this nation has seen in a hundred years: the coronavirus pandemic.”
“No community has been spared: more than 840,000 cases have been confirmed; more than 46,000 lives lost; and more than 22 million initial unemployment claims filed in the past month. Some regions of our country have now lost as many jobs over the last month as they did during the worst year of the Great Recession.”
“These statistics are not just numbers on a page, M. Speaker. These our neighbors. Our family. Our friends. Their health is at risk and their economic reality has changed overnight.”
“Since the start of this pandemic, Congress has provided more than $2 trillion dollars in emergency relief to get small businesses the financial help they need to survive; to help hospitals and health care workers on the front lines; and to expand testing and to provide every American access to an affordable vaccine when it’s developed.”
“We need to make sure these resources are going where Congress intended. That they are helping struggling Americans and small businesses without any rampant fraud or abuse, and that companies aren’t taking part in price gouging or profiteering. That’s what this Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus is all about.”
“This proactive approach is what then-Senator Harry Truman spearheaded at the dawn of World War II to ensure federal dollars spent then saved lives on the battlefield. Today, the battle is much different. It is against a worldwide pandemic currently without a vaccine or preventative treatment. But our aggressive oversight should be the same.”
“This is an extraordinary time. We have sent trillions of dollars out into our communities - they should be going to small businesses and not corporations; our workers, not the wealthy and those already well-off.”
“If you believe this administration has done things perfectly, then you should have nothing to fear. But the American people have a lot of questions They deserve answers, and they deserve to know their tax dollars are being well spent.”
