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Tracking unspent pandemic relief funds

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Blank checks on an idle press at the Philadelphia Regional Financial Center. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
Blank checks on an idle press at the Philadelphia Regional Financial Center. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

Listen: Activist Tiana Caldwell on finding strength in the face of eviction.


$800 billion in COVID relief funds still hasn't made it to the American people, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. And in Pennsylvania, about $2.5 billion of that money is going to a rainy day fund.

“There is money being put away, but this is not austerity simply for austerity sake," Rep. Jesse Topper says.

Or is the real problem bureaucratic bloat that couldn't get the money fast enough to the people who need it?

“The American Rescue Plan was overkill. I think that a lot of us understood ... at the time that the economy didn't actually need to trade towers of support," Marc Goldwein says. "And it's painfully clear now as we see what's happening with inflation.”

Today, On Point: Tracking unspent pandemic relief funds.

Guests

Marc Goldwein, senior vice president and senior policy director at the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. (@MarcGoldwein)

Rep. Torren Ecker, member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, representing the 193rd District. Member of the House Appropriations Committee. (@EckerRep)

Claudia Sahm, senior fellow at the Jain Family Institute, a non-profit applied research organization. (@Claudia_Sahm)

This program aired on November 30, 2021.

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