House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-SC) joined CNN's Jake Tapper on Sunday to explain the focus of the newly-formed House Select Committee on the Coronavirus Crisis, which Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) tapped him to chair. According to Clyburn, the goal of the committee is to "protect the American people."
"I think that is one of the reasons Speaker Pelosi decided that this committee was necessary. We, in the United States Congress, have oversight and we must perform that oversight," Clyburn explained. "And we will do that to make sure we save lives, that we save taxpayer money and she was very smart, I think, to pattern this committee after the Trump committee that was stood up in 1941."
Clyburn went on to explain that then-Senator Harry Truman argued in favor of one committee to investigate what took place in World War I instead of the 116 committees that were established.
"He said, at the time, he thought it was much better to have one committee before the fact and that committee proved to be very, very wise," Clyburn explained. "According to history, the committee spent less than $1 million dollars but saved $15 billion dollars and that's what Speaker Pelosi is trying to do here, get out in front of this to protect the American people so that we can not only save lives, we can keep fraud and abuse, profiteering."
The House majority whip cited an example of price gouging that has taken place in New York State. Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) was paying 70 cents for an N95 mask. That price has skyrocketed to $7 a mask.
"This is not about the President of the United States or even the independent counsel or the inspector general. This is about focusing on how the money is spent, whether or not the people who are getting the money are actually working on behalf of the American people or whether or not they're profiteering," he said.
According to Clyburn, his understanding is that the newly-formed committee will focus on how private businesses are handling the response, not whether or not the federal government could have responded the Wuhan coronavirus sooner.
"The crisis is with us. The American people are now out of work. There are millions of them out of work. The question is whether or not the money that's appropriated will go to support them and their families or whether or not this money will end up in the pockets of a few profiteers," Clyburn said.
Let's get this straight. The Democrats are trying to do everything they can to take care of the American people? If that's the case then why did Pelosi come in at the last minute and completely blow up the bipartisan, bicameral deal that was made without her? Oh. That's right. It's because she wanted to use this stimulus plan to fundamentally transform our country. Her wish list had ridiculous demands, like bailing out the USPS, upping the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour and offsetting airline emissions by 2025. Clyburn himself even said the Wuhan coronavirus relief package was the perfect opportunity to further their agenda.
The Democrats aren't looking to protect the American people. They're looking at protecting their party status and their position in government. They're doing everything in their power to push their radical agenda and move our country further left. The fact that they have to use a crisis to attempt to get it done shows just how unpopular their socialist ways really are.
Rep. James Clyburn on the committee that will oversee stimulus spending: "This is about focusing on how the money is spent, whether or not the people who are getting the money are actually working on behalf of the American people or whether or not they are profiteering" #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/eaWPOVEONF
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) April 5, 2020