Congress enacted nearly $6 trillion in extra money through multiple COVID-19 relief packages and the Democrats’ $1.9 trillion non-COVID spending bill in March.
Given the magnitude of spending and the various programs included in these packages, there are differences in what is considered “COVID” money and it’s hard to track where the money is going in real time but no matter how you slice it, both the U.S. government and the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget find that about $1.5 trillion has not been spent yet.
$1.5 trillion is not a small chunk of change. The entire federal government spent $4.4 trillion the year before the pandemic began so just the unspent “COVID” money would represent 34 percent of all government spending in a normal year. For example, it could cover the entire cost of Medicare and Medicaid for an entire year with plenty of money left over.
With all of this unspent “COVID” money, a federal deficit that’s triple what it used to be and $28 trillion in national debt, it’s truly unbelievable that Democrats are currently seeking to commit taxpayers to another $4 trillion in new spending this year. They’re being reckless with taxpayers’ money, plain and simple.
Resources:
Americans for Tax Reform: ATR June 2021 Qualitative Research Report – Federal Taxes and Spending
GOP Ways and Means: At Six Months, Biden Fails His Economic Report Card Wages Shrinking, Fewer New Jobs, and Slower Economic Growth