In a joint letter to the House and Senate Oversight Committee chairs, the top Democrats on each committee, Senator Claire Celsi of West Des Moines and Representative Ruth Ann Gaines of Des Moines, write that they were “flabbergasted to discover that Governor Reynolds sent $95 million in COVID-19 testing funding back to the U.S. Federal Government instead of giving schools the option to use it for COVID-19 testing protocols in their districts.”
Letter contents:
May 3, 2021
Senator Jason Schultz
State Representative Holly Brink
Re: House and Senate Oversight Committee – Request to meet in 2021 Legislative Session
Dear Senator Schultz and Representative Brink:
Greetings to you both and Happy Spring. It’ll be great to get out of the Capitol and enjoy the interim.
We’re writing today with concern over many issues, but with great urgency on one issue in particular. The billions of dollars sent to Iowa in the CARES Act and the American Rescue Plan must be spent according to complicated and sometimes strict rules. We want to assure that the Reynolds Administration spend the money in accordance with the rules to the benefit of Iowans.
We were flabbergasted to discover that Governor Reynolds sent $95 million in COVID-19 testing funding back to the U.S. Federal Government instead of giving schools the option to use it for COVID-19 testing protocols in their districts.
It is our collective responsibility to monitor the disbursement of these funds to ensure it is being used for its intended purpose. Iowans deserve to know where the money is going and what it is being used for. At the end of the statutory spending period, they also deserve to know how much (if any) was leftover and how much should be sent back.
We’re calling on both of you to convene Government Oversight meetings in the House and Senate so committee members can discuss protocols for conducting oversight on this Federal funding stream. We are all accountable to the taxpayers and voters in Iowa and we should be very concerned about managing it.
Please call or email us as soon as possible to discuss timing of this proposed meeting. We would also be open to meeting jointly as the issue equally concerns both bodies.
Sincerely,
Claire Celsi
State Senator
Ruth Ann Gaines
State Representative
