Comments by "Voix de la raison" (@voixdelaraison593) on "Tim Scott claims government 'doesn't know' what happened to prior relief money" video.
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@scottbutler2343
It was the latest indication that, despite attempts by lawmakers to build layers of oversight into the largest stimulus program of its kind in modern history, an administration that has been hostile to congressional scrutiny continues to resist. In a letter to four congressional committees last week, the heads of an independent accountability panel created by the law alerted lawmakers that lawyers for the Treasury Department were interpreting the statute in a way to exempt more than $1 trillion from scrutiny.
“The administration should release the names of all P.P.P. borrowers — as the S.B.A. routinely does for similar loan programs,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter to the heads of the Treasury Department and the Small Business Administration, which jointly administer the program. It came days after Mr. Mnuchin told a Senate committee that information was “proprietary” and not public.
“Contrary to Secretary Mnuchin’s recent testimony, there is nothing ‘proprietary’ or ‘confidential’ about a business receiving millions of dollars appropriated by Congress, and taxpayers deserve to know how their money is being spent,” the Democrats wrote.
Since the $2.2 trillion economic stabilization package became law in March, lawmakers have struggled to establish oversight. With some funds yet to be spent, including about $100 billion in the Paycheck Protection Program, and with lawmakers contemplating negotiations over another relief package, the scope of the task will only expand in the coming months.
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@scottbutler2343
President Donald Trump on Friday wrote in a signing statement accompanying the $2 trillion stimulus bill that he believes the inspector general overseeing a $500 billion relief fund for businesses will not have as much regulatory power as Democrats had sought.
The bill includes a $500 billion fund that companies, such as the struggling airlines, can tap to support their business. The fund is overseen by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. In original drafts of the Republican Senate bill, Mnuchin had wide discretion in overseeing that money. After criticisms from Democrats, Republicans agreed to add on a congressional oversight committee and Inspector General as added control measures.
The language gives the Inspector General power to report back to Congress information including the nature of the loan and its recipients. It has the power to make informational requests from other agencies “to extent practicable and not in contravention of any existing law.” It is required to let Congress know if those requests are blocked.
Trump, though, said Friday he believes the Inspector General needs his permission in order to make such reports to Congress.
“I do not understand, and my Administration will not treat, this provision as permitting the [the Inspector General] to issue reports to the Congress without the presidential supervision,” he wrote in a signing statement. A signing statement indicates how the president intends to interpret a law. Trump has a record of seeking to withhold information from Congress, most notably during the recent House Intelligence Committee’s probe of his dealings with Ukraine. He likewise fought efforts by House committees to subpoena his financial records
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