17 votes

Trump says he will not allow federal inspection over bailout funds

Posted by Kuromantis
Tags: usa, politics, coronaviruses.covid19, stimulus, oversight, corporate bailouts, donald trump, cares act, author.anya van wagtendonk, source.vox
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2020/3/28/21197995/coronavirus-stimulus-trump-inspector-general-wont-comply

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Title
Trump says he won't comply with key transparency measures in the coronavirus stimulus bill
Published
Mar 28 2020
Word count
974 words

11 comments

  1. [3]
    Omnicrola
    Link
    How foolish we all where to think that a mere law explicitly and specifically forbidding Trump from stealing from the American people would actually stop him.

    How foolish we all where to think that a mere law explicitly and specifically forbidding Trump from stealing from the American people would actually stop him.

    20 votes
    1. tlalexander
      Link Parent
      I remember when Halliburton, Vice President Dick Cheney’s company, got multi billion dollar contracts during George W Bush’s presidency after 9/11. But half a trillion dollars with no oversight...

      I remember when Halliburton, Vice President Dick Cheney’s company, got multi billion dollar contracts during George W Bush’s presidency after 9/11. But half a trillion dollars with no oversight would be so much more than what we’ve seen before. Well okay, the more I think about it there was the big bank bailout, and the pentagon gets hundreds of billions a year... but still this seems quite significant.

      6 votes
    2. skybrian
      Link Parent
      We will see if the people working for Trump follow the law.

      We will see if the people working for Trump follow the law.

      3 votes
  2. [3]
    moocow1452
    Link
    He doesn't have to honor the stipulation that Democrats stuck their neck out for and can hand money out to whoever at his own discretion? There's no going back to Congress or anything, he can...

    He doesn't have to honor the stipulation that Democrats stuck their neck out for and can hand money out to whoever at his own discretion? There's no going back to Congress or anything, he can approve the bill as is, but not honor that part and no one can really do anything about it? There's no real recourse here?

    10 votes
  3. [2]
    AVo
    (edited )
    Link
    I don’t even understand the premise of bills anymore. What’s the point of drafting all these intricate details if he isn’t going to be followed it anyway?

    I don’t even understand the premise of bills anymore. What’s the point of drafting all these intricate details if he isn’t going to be followed it anyway?

    8 votes
    1. tlalexander
      Link Parent
      I want to say it’s to trick us all in to believing the politicians are looking out for us.

      I want to say it’s to trick us all in to believing the politicians are looking out for us.

      3 votes
  4. [2]
    stu2b50
    Link
    Devil's advocate, there IS people on the "left" that don't support the restrictions. Why? Because after 2008, one big problem was that because there was so much red tape, not enough people...

    Devil's advocate, there IS people on the "left" that don't support the restrictions. Why? Because after 2008, one big problem was that because there was so much red tape, not enough people actually used the monetary fund. And the lesson from 2008 was, not enough money pushed into the economy.

    4 votes
    1. [2]
      Comment deleted by author
      Link Parent
      1. vektor
        Link Parent
        TBF, germany doesn't have a overtly corrupt lying businessman at the helm right now. We can afford to delay checks and balances and sort ourselves out later. The US? Not so much. They allow trump...

        TBF, germany doesn't have a overtly corrupt lying businessman at the helm right now. We can afford to delay checks and balances and sort ourselves out later. The US? Not so much. They allow trump unsupervised access to half a trillion dollars and him buying his reelection is the least of their worries.

        democracy, republic, my ass... If it wasn't coronavirus time right now, I'd be wondering why half the damn population wasn't rioting. At the same time I understand that won't be happening anyway.

        5 votes
  5. Kuromantis
    Link

    President Donald Trump said on Friday that he will not adhere to a portion of the $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus bill that would authorize an inspector general to oversee how $500 billion in business loans will be spent.

    In a statement released early Friday evening, Trump announced that he had signed into law the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security or CARES Act, a relief package aimed at mitigating some of the economic fallout caused by efforts to allay the spread of Covid-19.

    That bill also establishes a Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery (SIGPR) within the Treasury Department to audit and investigate half a trillion dollars in loans for large businesses. In his signing statement, Trump said that this provision raises “constitutional concerns,” adding that his administration would not comply with such an official’s request for documents.

    The special inspector general, as authorized within the bill, would be able to request information from government agencies and report on failures to comply with those information requests. In his signing statement, Trump essentially stated that he will not let such reports reach Congress without his approval, which many fear directly undermines the provision’s goal of maintaining transparency in how that fund is handled.

    8 votes