Republicans signal they may oppose new covid aid unless White House accounts for existing spending

In their note, the 36 Republicans stressed they have supported “unprecedented investments in vaccines, therapeutics and testing” in the past, including multiple bipartisan stimulus packages adopted under President Donald Trump. But they fretted it is still “not yet clear why additional funding is needed,” particularly now, given a lack of transparency in the roughly $6 trillion approved to date.

‘Immense fraud’ creates immense task for Washington as it tries to tighten scrutiny of $6 trillion in emergency coronavirus spending

The GOP lawmakers cited a recent investigation from The Washington Post, which documented the U.S. government’s persistent struggles in overseeing its own pandemic stimulus programs. The money remains difficult to track, while federal watchdogs have been outmatched in keeping a close eye on the aid, together resulting at times in rampant fraud. The troubles prompted President Biden to announce a new campaign to combat such criminal activity during the State of the Union address on Tuesday.