Where did the covid aid money go?

It was the largest burst of emergency spending in U.S. history: two years, six laws and more than $5 trillion intended to break the deadly grip of the coronavirus pandemic. The money spared the U.S. economy from ruin and put vaccines into millions of arms, but it also invited unprecedented levels of fraud, abuse and opportunism.

In a year-long investigation, The Washington Post followed the covid money trail to figure out what happened to all that cash. Here are our key findings.

Lots of cash, little oversight

Washington could not fully track this historic distribution of federal spending. It’s clear that billions of dollars were misspent or stolen, but officials aren’t sure exactly how much.

Even where wrongdoing has been apparent, experts say the cash may never be recovered. In cases where the federal government has found the perpetrators, the work to find, prosecute and punish them has been long, expensive and grueling, often taking them far beyond the United States.

Total spent in

pandemic

relief programs

$5.2T

$1B

Direct payments

to individuals

$1.1T

Farming

industry

$32.2B

Veterans

$34.4B

Health care

$351.4B

Education

$283.5B

Global

assistance

$16.1B

Unemployment

$1T

Public

services

$91.1B

Private-sector

pensions

$86B

Federal program

administration

and oversight

$92B

Broadband and

technology

$19.1B

Paycheck

Protection

Program

$778B

Tax credits

$161.6B

Small

businesses

$184B

State, local, and

tribal Governments

$674.3B

Financial

institutions and

Federal Reserve

$81.2B

Source: Pandemic Response Accountability Committee

Total spent in pandemic

relief programs

$5.2T

$1B

Direct payments

to individuals

$1.1T

Farming

industry

$32.2B

Veterans

$34.4B

Health care

$351.4B

Education

$283.5B

Global

assistance

$16.1B

Unemployment

$1T

Public

services

$91.1B

Private-sector

pensions

$86B

Federal program

administration

and oversight

$92B

Broadband and

technology

$19.1B

Paycheck

Protection

Program

$778B

Tax credits

$161.6B

Small

businesses

$184B

State, local, and

tribal Governments

$674.3B

Financial

institutions and

Federal Reserve

$81.2B

Source: Pandemic Response Accountability Committee

Total spent in pandemic

relief programs

$5.2T

$1B

Financial

institutions and

Federal Reserve

$81.2B

Small

businesses

$184B

Private-sector

pensions

$86B

Veterans

$34.4B

Education

$283.5B

Transportation

$159.2B

Direct payments

to individuals

$1.1T

Tax credits

$161.6B

State, local, and

tribal Governments

$674.3B

Public

services

$91.1B

Paycheck

Protection

Program

$778B

Broadband and

technology

$19.1B

Unemployment

$1T

Health care

$351.4B

Federal program

administration

and oversight

$92B

Farming

industry

$32.2B

Global

assistance

$16.1B

Source: Pandemic Response Accountability Committee

Total spent in pandemic

relief programs

$5.2T

$1B

Financial

institutions and

Federal Reserve

$81.2B

Small

businesses

$184B

Private-sector

pensions

$86B

Veterans

$34.4B

Education

$283.5B

Transportation

$159.2B

Direct payments

to individuals

$1.1T

Tax credits

$161.6B

State, local, and

tribal Governments

$674.3B

Public

services

$91.1B

Paycheck

Protection

Program

$778B

Broadband and

technology

$19.1B

Unemployment

$1T

Health care

$351.4B

Farming

industry

$32.2B

Federal program

administration

and oversight

$92B

Global

assistance

$16.1B

Source: Pandemic Response Accountability Committee

Some of the the federal watchdogs tasked to oversee the money — the nation’s inspectors general — also have faced struggles of their own. These independent offices oversee trillions of dollars of aid for small businesses, unemployed workers and needly families, but they have been under-funded for years, even as they have repeatedly asked Congress for help to combat waste, fraud and abuse.

Haste made waste

With the economy in free fall in early 2020, lawmakers and federal agencies opted for haste over precision, opening the door for waste, fraud and abuse. For example, the Small Business Administration rescued hundreds of thousands of firms from collapse, but it also sent billions of dollars to companies that probably shouldn’t have obtained the money at all.

Some of the trouble plagued federal funds to help millions of Americans pay for their internet at a time when families were forced to work, learn and communicate entirely over the web. Fraudsters appeared to bilk the program by millions of dollars while telecom giants seized on the newly available government aid to try to turn a profit. In response to the Post’s reporting, congressional lawmakers have opened an investigation.

Few rules, pet projects

Congress at one point sent about $500 billion directly to cities, counties and states to shore up their budgets. But the money often came with few rules. Republican officials, in particular, found ways to channel the funds to pet projects with no relation to the pandemic, including cutting taxes and building border walls.

In light of the Post’s reporting, federal watchdog agencies and law enforcement officials have opened multiple probes into the spending.

A bonanza for criminals

The vast sums of cash that spared some families from financial ruin also attracted sophisticated criminal networks. For example, malicious actors stole the identities of thousands of innocent Americans and obtained small business loans and unemployment checks in their names — making the funds hard to access when people legitimately needed help.

$10B

Total spent in pandemic

relief programs

$5.23T

Unemployment

$1.03T

Estimated losses

to overpayments

$163B

Recovered

at least $4.1B

$10B

Total spent in pandemic

relief programs

$5.23T

Unemployment

$1.03T

Estimated losses

to overpayments

$163B

Recovered at least $4.1B

$10B

Total spent in pandemic

relief programs

$5.23T

Unemployment

$1.03T

Estimated losses

to overpayments

$163B

Recovered at least $4.1B

$10B

Total spent in pandemic

relief programs

$5.23T

Unemployment

$1.03T

Estimated losses

to overpayments

$163B

Recovered at least $4.1B

The problems were especially pronounced when it came to the nation’s jobless benefits. A top watchdog for the Labor Department estimated in March there could have been “at least” $163 billion in unemployment-related “overpayments." By that point, the United States had recaptured only about $4 billion, according to state workforce data furnished by the Labor Department this March.

Washington floundered

Understaffed, unprepared and overwhelmed federal agencies often fumbled to effectively disburse the massive amounts of cash. At the Department of Veterans Affairs, where watchdogs have warned for years of mismanagement, a nearly $400 million job-training program has so far produced fewer than 400 jobs.

The rich got theirs

Some aid programs exacerbated economic disparities. Those with the deepest pockets, savviest lawyers and best connections often proved adept at accessing the money, while some of the hardest-hit schools, hospitals, businesses and families were shortchanged.

In the aftermath, federal policymakers were left to wonder whether the rush of federal aid carried other unintended consequences, including a rapid rise in prices nationally. The data would later show the rescue packages were a double-edged sword — spurring the fastest recovery of any Group of 7 nation, even as it sparked the biggest jump in consumer prices in 40 years

Read The Covid Money Trail