Six Democrats Named to House Coronavirus Oversight Subcommittee

(Bloomberg) -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi named six Democrats to a special House subcommittee to oversee the spending of coronavirus relief funds and prevent price gouging and profiteering.

The newly named members will work alongside panel Chairman Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, the third-ranking House Democrat, who Pelosi appointed earlier. House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy hasn’t yet filled the GOP seats.

The 12-member committee was created on a party-line House vote when lawmakers were in Washington last Thursday to pass the most recent coronavirus financial aid bill.

The Democrats named by Pelosi to the subcommittee represent a mix of representatives by region, ethnicity and seniority. They are: House Financial Services Chairwoman Maxine Waters of California; House Oversight Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney of New York; Small Business Chairwoman Nydia Velazquez of New York; Representatives Bill Foster of Illinois; Jamie Raskin of Maryland, and Andy Kim of New Jersey.

“We must be sure that the money we put forth goes to those who need it most, in a way that addresses disparities in access to health care and credit,” Pelosi said in a statement Wednesday. “We also owe it to the American people to prevent waste, fraud and abuse and to protect against price-gouging and profiteering.”

Pelosi has repeatedly likened the new subcommittee to one then-Senator Harry Truman led at the start of World War II to oversee federal spending on the war effort.

“His wasn’t partisan in any way, nor should this be considered partisan,” she said on the House floor last week.

McCarthy and other Republicans criticized the creation of the panel as wasteful and duplicative of other congressional oversight efforts. They also said Democrats could use it to make partisan attacks on President Donald Trump and his administration.

”The roster the speaker has chosen makes clear that this is not an honest effort at transparency and accountability, but rather another attempt to politically damage the Trump administration,” McCarthy spokesman Mark Bednar said in an emailed statement.

He didn’t say whether McCarthy intends to fill GOP seats on the panel, and if so, when.

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