GAO Report Criticizes US Government’s Response To Coronavirus Outbreak
- June 26, 2020
CNN (6/25, Fox, Wallace) reports that a new Government Accountability Office report out Thursday “highlights how unprepared the US government was to tackle coronavirus and deal with the corresponding economic crisis that required Congress to get trillions in federal stimulus dollars out the door.” The report “lays out how the US fell short on everything from testing to ensuring hospitals and states had adequate supplies.” For example, the GAO found that “the Strategic National Stockpile was not equipped to handle the demand generated by states and localities in need of personal protective equipment, ventilators and other critical medical supplies.”
Reuters (6/25) reports the GAO “noted amongst other shortfalls that the U.S. government had sent nearly $1.4 billion worth of stimulus checks to dead Americans as of the end of April, underlining challenges the government faces in ensuring funds are properly spent.” Some of the report’s “harshest criticism was reserved for the Small Business Administration (SBA), which oversees a $670 billion emergency loan program to help companies survive the pandemic, and the lack of a plan from the Department of Transportation to improve the aviation sector’s response to outbreaks.”
Among other media outlets providing coverage are: The Hill (6/25, Weixel), FierceHealthcare (6/25, King), and Bloomberg Law (6/25, Stein, Ruoff, Subscription Publication).