I wasn’t going to write anything today but I read something last night that kept bugging me and then there was a column in the Bozeman paper this morning that just added to my angst. So, here I am. I know not many people read this but it is cathartic for me to write it. Also, the cartoon below was just a bonus in the paper this morning. It has nothing to do with what I am writing about but I couldn’t resist!!
As most everyone knows, the government passed stimulus bills of over $2 TRILLION to help the economy ravaged by the COVID 19 pandemic (CARES ACT). As part of those stimulus packages there was a $660 BILLION program called the Paycheck Protection Plan and an almost $500 BILLION package designated for programs and lending facilities to aid mid- and large-sized businesses. Congress included several oversight provisions in these bills since, after all, this is a significant chunk of taxpayer dollars. However, the legal department at the Treasury Department issued an opinion stating that these programs were not subject to the oversight provisions and the information requested by Congress need not be provided!!! Remember, we are talking about over $1 TRILLION of taxpayer money here.
This position resulted in some of the involved Inspectors General writing a letter to the relevant Congressional committees to flag this as an issue, i.e. this would greatly hamper their ability to provide ‘transparency’ to how these government funds are actually spent and to whom they are disbursed.
In addition, “When President Donald Trump signed the CARES Act in March, he included a signing statement suggesting he would ignore several of the oversight requirements, including that the newly appointed special inspector general inform Congress if the administration refuses to cooperate with requests for information.
Trump then removed the acting inspector general for the Pentagon, Glenn Fine, after Fine had been selected to chair the PRAC, the group of inspectors general who will oversee the stimulus spending.” (https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/15/politics/inspectors-general-treasury-oversight/index.html)
What really set me off this morning was reading a column from one of the Republican Montana legislators railing against Governor Steve Bullock, who is a democrat, about how the funding that Montana received under the CARES ACT ($1.2 BILLION) was being spent. I have included the text of the column below.
This is yet another example of Republicans, more than willing to demand openness and transparency (and rightly so), but turning a blind eye when Trump and his administration refuse to provide oversight on the spending of over $1TRILLION of taxpayer money. What the hell?
Once again, the Trump administration is trampling all over the constitution. The ‘power of the purse’ is vested in the Congress according to the constitution. Only Congress has the power to allocate federal funding. And any reasonable person would assume that if Congress allocates $1 TRILLION in taxpayer dollars, they should have some interest in ensuring that money is spent wisely, legally and for the stated purpose for which is was allocated. In this case, Congress allocated the funds, put in what they believed were sufficient oversight measures and Trump basically said, “Thanks for the money – fuck you!”
It is beyond me why this doesn’t outrage every single American. These are our taxpayer dollars!! We have a right to know how they are being spent and to whom they are being given. And the Republicans need to grow a spine and stop putting up with this blatant abuse of authority. Like I said yesterday – this is how democracies die – from the inside, through ostensibly ‘legal’ means, when the people who have the power to check abuses fail to act.
That’s just classic Mike, incredible that Burnett would write such an editorial. And FYI I look forward to and read your post first thing every morning that you write it!!
Harry Truman said the buck stops here. Trump says the buck stops here. Unfortunately it stops in his pocket.