# Plain Language Summary: Transparency in COVID-19 Expenditures Act

This bill asks the Comptroller General—basically the government's top auditor—to investigate how all the COVID-19 relief money was actually spent. During the pandemic, Congress passed several major spending bills that sent out hundreds of billions of dollars to individuals, businesses, and organizations. This bill wants an independent review of where all that money went and what it was used for, with a full report sent back to Congress.

The bill covers six major COVID relief packages from 2020 and 2021, including the famous stimulus checks that went to Americans, the Paycheck Protection Program loans for small businesses, unemployment benefits, and vaccine distribution funding. Essentially, it's asking: "Let's take a comprehensive look at all this spending and see if the money was used as intended." The audit would examine whether funds reached the right recipients, whether any money was wasted or misused, and how effectively the programs accomplished their goals.

For everyday people, this matters because it's your tax money being reviewed. If the audit finds problems—like fraud, waste, or money going to the wrong places—it could lead to changes in how the government handles emergency spending in the future. It's also about accountability: knowing that someone is checking up on how massive government programs actually work can help restore confidence in how public funds are managed. The report would be public, so citizens could see the findings themselves rather than just hearing about it secondhand.

Transparency in COVID–19 Expenditures Act

Tenney, Claudia

Transparency in COVID-19 Expenditures Act This bill requires the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to audit certain funding that was provided to address COVID-19. Specifically, the GAO must audit and report on the use of funding provided by <ul> <li>the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2020;</li> <li>the Families First Coronavirus Response Act;</li> <li> the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act); </li> <li>the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act; </li> <li>Divisions M and N of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021; and </li> <li>the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.</li> </ul>