Minnesota Congressman Introduces Amendment to Fund Oversight of COVID-19 Related Spending

(KNSI) – Minnesota Sixth District Congressman Tom Emmer Monday introduced an amendment to redirect $35 million of the proposed $3.5 trillion tax and spending proposals or reconciliation bill.

Emmer is asking the Inspector General of the U.S. Treasury and the Inspector General of the Department of Housing and Urban Development to oversee American Rescue Plan programs. Emmer said when the first COVID-19 relief packages were passed in March of 2020, they included $35 million in funding for the Treasury Inspector General to oversee programs like the Coronavirus Relief Fund. He says the federal government has appropriated trillions in new spending, but there were no additional resources for the Inspector Generals charged with overseeing the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act earlier this year. The money he says was misused and specifically cited the Sartell St. Stephen School District applying thousands in COVID relief funding for an equity audit survey that “alarmed students and their parents. This survey was completely not COVID related, and was entirely inappropriate in the first place.”

Emmer added that the Sartell St. Stephen debacle was just one example of waste, fraud, and abuse of COVID relief money. On his YouTube channel, Emmer said, “In light of the lack of appropriate funding for our Treasury IG, the Treasury Office of Inspector General received tens of thousands of e-mail and hotline inquiries, and thousands of complaints related to the Department’s American Rescue Plan programs. The need for oversight of COVID relief money is clear.”

Emmer says his amendment would provide additional resources to the Inspector Generals at the Department of Treasury and HUD to ensure they can continue with their oversight work and keep a watchful eye on the use of taxpayer dollars.

Read the amendment here.

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