◆ Pelosi forms panel to oversee $2 trillion virus response.
WASHINGTON — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the creation of a new select committee Thursday with subpoena powers to scrutinize the Trump administration’s response to the coronavirus pandemic and its management of the new $2 trillion economic rescue law.
“Where there’s money, there’s also frequently mischief,” Pelosi, D-Calif., said as she announced creation of the special bipartisan panel she said would be focused on rooting out waste, fraud and abuse.
Pelosi’s announcement came amid growing clashes between congressional Democrats and the Trump administration about oversight of the new rescue legislation and a $500 billion fund controlled by the Treasury Department. President Donald Trump has to appoint a new inspector general to oversee that fund but has already signaled opposition to the scope of that person’s mandate.
Pelosi told reporters on a conference call that her new committee would be modeled after the World War II-era committee run by then-Sen. Harry Truman, D-Mo., whose role in investigating the implementation of billions of dollars in defense contracts eventually led to his elevation to vice president.
She said that this new committee needed to serve as an everyday watchdog of the more than $2 trillion already allocated to fight the novel coronavirus and the virtual lockdown it has placed on the economy.
The House Select Committee on the Coronavirus, as Pelosi called it, will be chaired by Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., who is the No. 3 Democratic leader as majority whip. No further details were provided about how many lawmakers would serve on the panel.
In a statement, Clyburn said
“we cannot let the assistance directed toward addressing this crisis accrue in an unequitable fashion.”
Democrats have alleged that the White House and Republicans are prioritizing assistance for businesses over households, and Clyburn said his committee would be scrutinizing this dynamic closely.
“In the recovery from previous crises like the Great Depression and various recessions, parts of our great country were left behind, having not been treated equitably,” he said. “We cannot allow that to happen in this pandemic.”
The new oversight committee is being created in addition to several other oversight mechanisms, which were established as part of the $2 trillion coronavirus spending law that was enacted on March 27. But some Democrats are already expressing concern that Trump could try to circumvent oversight for his administration’s decisions.