The United States House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis is a bipartisan

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

select subcommittee that Speaker

Nancy Pelosi Nancy Patricia Pelosi (; ; born March 26, 1940) is an American politician who has served as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives since 2019 and previously from 2007 to 2011. She has represented in the United States House of ...

has announced will be created to provide

congressional oversight Congressional oversight is oversight by the United States Congress over the Executive Branch, including the numerous U.S. federal agencies. Congressional oversight includes the review, monitoring, and supervision of federal agencies, programs, a ...

of the

Trump administration Donald Trump's tenure as the 45th president of the United States began with his inauguration on January 20, 2017, and ended on January 20, 2021. Trump, a Republican from New York City, took office following his Electoral College victory ...

's response to the

COVID-19 pandemic in the United States The COVID-19 pandemic in the United States is a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In the United States, it has resulted in confirme ...

. The Select Subcommittee was established under H.Res.935 during the

116th Congress The 116th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives. It convened in Washington, D.C., on January 3, 2019, and ended on Januar ...

. Pelosi announced on April 2, 2020, that the committee will oversee the $2.2 trillion economic stimulus/rescue legislation (the

Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, also known as the CARES Act, is a $2.2trillion Stimulus (economics), economic stimulus bill passed by the 116th U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump on March 27, ...

) enacted by

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

. The Act created a $500 billion bailout fund for U.S. industry and is the largest economic emergency legislation in U.S. history.Billy House & Erik Wasson
Pelosi Announces Bipartisan House Committee on Coronavirus
Bloomberg (April 2, 2020).Clare Foran, Haley Byrd & Manu Raju
Pelosi announces House committee on coronavirus crisis to exercise oversight of pandemic response
CNN (April 2, 2020). It will be a special investigatory subcommittee under the

House Oversight Committee The Committee on Oversight and Reform is the main investigative United States congressional committee, committee of the United States House of Representatives. The committee's broad jurisdiction and legislative authority make it one of the most ...

. Pelosi stated in her announcement that the committee will be chaired by

House Majority Whip Party leaders of the United States House of Representatives, also known as floor leaders, are congresspeople who coordinate legislative initiatives and serve as the chief spokespersons for their parties on the House floor. These leaders are ele ...

Jim Clyburn, aided by a staff of experts. It will have

subpoena A subpoena (; also subpœna, supenna or subpena) or witness summons is a writ issued by a government agency, most often a court, to compel testimony by a witness or production of evidence under a penalty for failure. There are two common types of ...

power and a $2,000,000 budget. Pelosi charged the committee with preventing waste, profiteering, and

price gouging Price gouging is a pejorative term used to describe the situation when a seller increases the prices of goods, services, or commodities to a level much higher than is considered reasonable or fair. Usually, this event occurs after a demand or ...

, and seeking to ensure that responses to the pandemic are based on science. She described the committee as a mechanism for an

after-action review An after action review (AAR) is a technique for improving process and execution by analyzing the intended outcome and actual outcome of an action and identifying practices to sustain, and practices to improve or initiate, and then practicing those c ...

. The committee's mandate is analogous to that of the

Truman Committee The Truman Committee, formally known as the Senate Special Committee to Investigate the National Defense Program, was a United States Congressional investigative body, headed by Senator Harry S. Truman. The bipartisan special committee was fo ...

in the 1940s, which investigated waste and fraud in defense spending. On April 23, 2020, the House officially voted 212–182 along party lines, to approve the committee's creation. After Republicans gained a majority of the House of Representatives at the start of the

118th Congress The 118th United States Congress is the next meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It is scheduled to meet in Washington ...

, the House voted to continue the committee, now dubbed Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, was approved as part of the House's rules package on January 9, 2023 by a 220-213 vote. The purpose of the committee was changed to investigate the origins of COVID-19, gain-of-function research, coronavirus-related government spending, and

mask A mask is an object normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance, or entertainment and often they have been employed for rituals and rights. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practi ...

and

vaccine A vaccine is a biological preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious or malignant disease. The safety and effectiveness of vaccines has been widely studied and verified.

mandates. On January 24, 2023, Speaker

Kevin McCarthy Kevin Owen McCarthy (born January 26, 1965) is an American politician, serving as House Minority Leader in the United States House of Representatives since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he served as House Majority Leader under sp ...

announced that the subcommittee would be chaired by Representative Brad Wenstrup.

Members, 118th Congress

Historical Members

References

External links

*
Speaker Pelosi's "Dear Colleague" Letter to All House Members Announcing Committee's Formation
House Oversight Coronavirus Crisis House Oversight Coronavirus Crisis Coronavirus Crisis Oversight Coronavirus Crisis 2020 establishments in Washington, D.C. {{COVID-19-stub

Members, 118th Congress

Historical Members

See also

References

External links