Democrats Rush $350 Billion Slush Fund for State and Local Governments While $46 Billion in CARES Act Funding Remains

WASHINGTON—Following a letter from House Committee on Oversight and Reform Ranking Member James Comer (R-Ky.) and Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Kevin Brady (R-Texas), the U.S. Department of the Treasury Office of Inspector General confirmed to the lawmakers that $46 billion of CARES Act funding provided to state and local governments remains unspent. State and local governments have until December 31, 2021 to spend these funds.

“Democrats are rushing through a $350 billion bailout for state and local governments even though tens of billions of taxpayer dollars already provided to them remain unspent. Congress is entrusted with stewarding taxpayers’ hard-earned dollars but this rush to bail out locked-down states that shuttered small businesses, schools, and churches is government waste, pure and simple. Before Congress even considers giving states and local governments another dime, funds already available to them must be used. With our national deficit already projected to be $2.3 trillion without the Democrats’ stimulus slush fund, we need to be more vigilant than ever in how Congress spends Americans’ money,” said Ranking Member Comer.

“With nearly one third in aid to states and local governments still unspent, Democrats’ rush to pass even more as part of a $1.9 trillion bill makes no sense. Our priority has to be crushing the virus and reopening the economy, and this bill isn’t even targeting the resources to those who truly need them,” said Ranking Member Brady.

The House Committee on Oversight and Reform plans to markup the Democrats’ $350 billion state bailout today starting at 12:00p ET.

The Treasury OIG’s breakdown of CARES Act funding can be found here.