More than $5.4 billion in Covid loans went to applicants using 'questionable' Social Security numbers, watchdog says
NBCDec 23, 2022
The Facts
The Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, the government’s COVID watchdog, released a report on Monday saying that the US government likely gave around $5.4B in COVID loans to people with “questionable” social security numbers.
The report comes as the Republican-led House Oversight Committee holds its first hearing on fraud in pandemic spending on Wednesday. The US government is probing fraud cases related to assistance programs such as Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), unemployment insurance, and Medicare.
The Spin
Republican narrative
The Republican-led House of Representatives was elected to rein in spending and hold President Biden’s administration accountable for their mismanagement of federal dollars. Billions of taxpayer dollars have been given to fraudsters because Biden and Congressional Democrats have been more focused on pushing money out the door than they are on conducting meaningful oversight.
Democratic narrative
Donald Trump and the Republicans are to blame for the potential defrauding of COVID-relief programs. The pandemic started under Trump’s administration, and he failed to implement adequate oversight to protect taxpayer dollars. President Biden is working to clean up his predecessor’s mess.
