Walz Used COVID Relief Funds for Things That Had Nothing to Do With the Pandemic

The $3.8 trillion that Democrats in Congress authorized for pandemic relief ($2 trillion was passed during the Trump administration) contained $800 billion for state and local governments.

Admittedly, the states had some flexibility in how they spent their cut. Some states used the money to shore up their employee pension programs. While not specifically authorized in the enabling legislation, given the broad authority granted to states to spend the money, no one is likely to challenge it.

How about a governor spending $4.3 million to cover parking costs for state employees "and visitors"? Or $1 million on a feasibility study for paid family leave? And another million dollars for a gun safety ad campaign?

Some of this spending may have been justifiable as long as the cash came from the state's general budget. But using COVID-19 relief funds like this violates the spirit of the law. Not that it matters to anyone in Congress.

Many of us predicted this misuse of COVID relief funds. It was a no-brainer. Billions of dollars are available to politicians with very loose strings and literally no one watching. 

We know that about half a trillion dollars in pandemic relief was lost due to fraud and waste. How much went to line items like paying for state employee parking? Or the construction of school athletic fields and swimming pools? Or upgrading the faculty lounge?

Gov. Tim Walz (D-Minn.) spent money using pandemic relief funds that could have easily come from the state's general budget. It's not a crime. But don't you think it gives us an idea of what kind of a politician he is?

Reason.com:

A few of the biggest line items should also get more scrutiny, though there is limited information available on the Treasury's site. For example, the state distributed more than $11 million to the Minnesota Zoo and nearly $3.8 million to the Science Museum of Minnesota to cover operating and maintenance costs. In some ways, that is connected to the pandemic: Fear of the disease and government social distancing mandates certainly harmed museums and zoos. The same could be said of the $237,000 line item for a "movie theater relief grant program."

But Walz should be asked why he believes federal taxpayers—who may not live in Minnesota or ever visit the state—should be on the hook to pay for that.

As Reason has reported over the past few years, the federal bailout of state and local governments after the pandemic was largely unnecessary, and many governments have struggled to find ways to use the $350 billion in free cash distributed by the ARP. A good chunk of the funds have been put to questionable use, including subsidizing money-losing, government-owned golf courses, padding the paychecks of public employees, and funding tourism promotion campaigns.

Walz wasn't alone, of course. Governors cast about desperately for ways to spend the windfall. But the criticism Reason's Eric Boem offered rings true.

"Walz should be asked why he believes federal taxpayers—who may not live in Minnesota or ever visit the state—should be on the hook to pay for that."

Until someone — not Congress — begins investigating this massive misuse of government power and taxpayer money, we're in danger of having history repeat itself when the next national health emergency is upon us.