Miami Congresswoman Donna Shalala named to $2 trillion stimulus oversight commission
Miami Congresswoman Donna Shalala was appointed Friday to the congressional panel tasked with overseeing the Trump administration’s handling of a $2 trillion federal stimulus package to help lift the country out of the economic crisis caused by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Shalala, a former Health and Human Services secretary under former President Bill Clinton, was named by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to the congressional oversight commission for the CARES Act, the bailout bill passed last month by Congress.
“Congresswoman Donna Shalala is a deeply respected and highly accomplished leader in the Congress and country, who has for decades led the fight to defend the health and economic security of the American people at the highest levels of government,” Pelosi said in a statement.
“Her leadership as Secretary of Health and Human Services will serve the American people extremely well, as she works to ensure that this historic coronavirus relief package is being used wisely and efficiently to protect the lives and livelihoods of the American people, and not be exploited by profiteers and price-gougers.”
The five-person commission, one of several oversight mechanisms for the historic stimulus package, is responsible for supervising efforts by the U.S. Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve to stabilize the economy by lending hundreds of billions of dollars to struggling businesses, hospitals, municipalities and states. It will hold hearings and issue monthly reports to Congress.
Some of the money has already been allocated. Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Friday that $4.1 billion had been set aside for the state of Florida, and more than $400 million has been directed toward Miami International Airport and Miami-Dade County’s transit system.
Shalala, a Democrat, joins Republican U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, Republican U.S. Rep. French Hill, and Bharat Ramamurti, a longtime aide to U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren. A commission chairperson will be named later by Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
Shalala has been critical of President Donald Trump, who after signing the CARES Act on March 27 immediately questioned the constitutionality of some oversight provisions in the legislation. On the day Congress approved the bill, Shalala said oversight provisions would be crucial to ensuring that money goes to the right places.
“I think the whole world is going to be watching,” she said that day in an interview. “We made the point, we put money into the inspector general’s office, we expect careful oversight.”
McClatchy DC reporter Alex Daugherty contributed to this report.
This story was originally published April 17, 2020 at 8:36 PM.
