Lawmakers ask for investigation on alleged redirection of COVID-19 funds

Two Democratic associates of the Senate and Property Armed Services Committees are formally requesting that the Division of Protection Inspector General investigate studies that the Pentagon redirected hundreds of hundreds of thousands of pounds meant for COVID-19 reaction to defense contractors for “jet engine sections, body armor and costume uniforms,” according to the letter. 

United States Senator Elizabeth Warren, (D-Mass.), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), a member of the Property Armed Services and Oversight and Reform Committees, despatched the letter dated September twenty five to Sean O’Donnell, Acting Inspector General, Division of Protection.

They requested O’Donnell to investigate studies that the Pentagon redirected funds from the Protection Production Act meant for COVID-19 reaction to defense contractors for unrelated sections and tools, a move that could be unlawful, the lawmakers claimed.

Congress allotted $one billion in funds below the Coronavirus, Support, Reduction, and Economic Safety Act for DoD to manufacture own protective tools and other materials. 

Not only did DoD reportedly redirect the vast the vast majority of these funds to defense contractors for assignments unrelated to combating the pandemic, some defense corporations efficiently gained a double bailout mainly because governing administration data exhibits they also gained loans by means of the Paycheck Defense System, a aid method meant for having difficulties modest organizations, according to the letter.

WHY THIS MATTERS 

Through the pandemic, quite a few providers have dealt with shortages of own defense tools and detrimental margins. 

Vendors have gained $fifty billion and extra in targeted aid from the $one hundred billion appropriation in the CARES Act and $seventy five billion from the Paycheck Defense System. 
Hospitals also gained accelerated and progress funds, which are loans they are necessary to pay back. Several providers carry on to face large profits shortfalls owing to COVID-19.

States need $six billion to distribute COVID-19 vaccines to People and hospitals carry on to endure a shortage of N95 masks, the letter states, indicating the funds that went to the DoD are necessary elsewhere. 

THE Greater Pattern

The lawmakers foundation their ask for, at least in aspect, on newspaper studies exhibiting that an overpowering the vast majority of funds had very little to do with manufacturing of health-related tools or addressing the nation’s offer shortages owing to the COVID-10 pandemic. 

Warren and colleagues previously questioned the DoD on what Warren claimed was its slow and disjointed reaction to the coronavirus outbreak.

ON THE Document

“In its place of addressing the urgent requires of a pandemic that has killed over 200,000 People, it appears DoD applied taxpayer dollars meant to safeguard lives from COVID-19 to pad the pockets of defense contractors,” wrote the lawmakers. “The noted misuse by DoD of federal funds … is inconsistent with the will of Congress and may be unlawful.”

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