Friend,
Since the day he was inaugurated, Donald Trump has led a dangerous and calculated effort to skirt any and all accountability for himself and his administration. Now, during this heartbreaking health crisis, his reckless disregard for oversight has only become more alarming.
In the CARES Act, Congress established a number of independent watchdogs to prevent any fraud, corruption, or mismanagement of the approximately $2 trillion in emergency relief for the American people. But even as Donald Trump signed this bill into law, he was already undermining these critical oversight bodies.
In short: Donald Trump wants to put the fox in charge of the henhouse.
The stakes for our country are simply too high to allow this president's response to the COVID-19 crisis to proceed without oversight – but we can fix this. I just introduced legislation in the Senate to ensure tough oversight and transparency going forward – and I'm counting on you to speak out today to demand Congress pass it.
Here's how this legislation would protect taxpayer money from waste, corruption, and favoritism:
- Ensure economic relief goes to our workers, and the state, local, and tribal governments that need help before the corporate executives who don't
- Establish conflict-of-interest protections so no federal official can personally profit from government decisions
- Require full disclosure of corporate lobbying and a ban on any political spending or lobbying expenses by companies that collect emergency assistance
- Strengthen oversight – including congressional oversight – to make sure there is bailout accountability that Donald Trump can't control
No president is above the law, and Congress has the tools to keep it that way. I'm fighting with everything I have to make sure we use them, but I need you with me:
Thank you so much for taking a stand,
Dick
