And lawmakers are getting anxious as problems crop up in the recovery effort.
Congress’ mad dash to shovel nearly $3 trillion into the economy and rescue failing industries met little resistance as the coronavirus crisis overwhelmed communities across the country.
But now the hangover has set in.
The sprawling CARES Act, and its similarly rushed companion bills, has fueled rising angst for lawmakers. They’ve been bombarded with complaints about breakdowns in the small-business lending program, loopholes that have allowed large companies to snatch cash meant for smaller operations and administrative failures that have delayed stimulus checks to struggling American households.
Hospitals, lawmakers say, are competing with each other and the federal government for lifesaving equipment for their employees, and coronavirus testing is still hard to access in many parts of the country, despite Congress’ efforts.
And it’s all occurring without the oversight operations meant to confront these problems as they arise.
“Our constituents have a lot of questions about where the hell this $3 trillion is going and why it isn’t coming into their pockets,” Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-Pa.) said during a Thursday meeting at the Capitol.
Lawmakers are now begging for fixes to a litany of legislative shortcomings. Several brought up issues with the small-business program on a call with the head of the Small Business Administration, Jovita Carranza, on Wednesday…
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