Labor Secretary Lori Chavez DeRemer announced on Tuesday that her department had decided to return over a billion dollars in COVID funding that was not spent to the Treasury. Labor Secretary Lori Chavez DeRemer made an announcement on Tuesday that her department had decided to return to the Treasury over $1 billion in COVID funds.
Lori Chavez DeRemer announced Monday that the U.S. Department of Labor would return over $1 billion of COVID-19 funds to the taxpayers. The Department of Government Efficiency was asked by the Trump Administration to reduce fraud, waste, and corruption within the federal government.
In a press release, the Labor Department announced that $1.4 billion of the COVID funds will be “returned to taxpayers through the U.S. Department of Treasury General Fund.” The Labor Department also stated that “actions are being taken” to “recover any remaining $2.9 million.”
According to the press release, the $4.3 billion was intended for the states to use as temporary unemployment benefits in the event of a pandemic. The Inspector General of the Homeland Security Office found that some states spent millions of dollars even though they didn’t meet the requirements.
It’s a great start, but it was never intended that the COVID funds be used. They were. The money is going back to the Treasury, and detractors will claim that it is simply moving money from one federal agency to another. The Treasury can also be used to purchase training ammunition for Pete Hegseth’s new warfighting group.
Here’s my question.
In a release, the Department explained that the funding was provided by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, passed in March 2020. The program offered expanded unemployment insurance for Americans who were unable to work because of the pandemic.
The department said that the program would close in 2021. A 2023 audit found that “four states received funds despite not fulfilling the program requirements.” The total amount spent was over $100 million.
Please answer my questions.
The money was spent in a way that was not intended. Was it just thrown away into the air?
This is an excellent argument to have the federal government as close as possible to its taxpaying citizens. State governments should handle and fund pandemic response to the fullest extent. Federal Colossus, a massive bureaucracy, filters money to states.
Lori Chavez DeRemer’s team deserves a lot for finding the money that wasn’t spent and redistributing it to where it was needed (hah!) Many questions remain unanswered. Pam Bondi should look into them.
