American Rescue Plan of 2021 Archives

Missouri House Budget Chair: bipartisan oversight is needed on federal rescue plan dollars (AUDIO)

April 26, 2021 By Brian Hauswirth

Legislation aimed at preventing waste or fraud of federal stimulus dollars will be heard Monday afternoon by the Missouri House Budget Committee in Jefferson City.

Missouri House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith (R-Carthage) speaks on the House floor on March 30, 2021, as Speaker Pro Tem John Wiemann (R-O’Fallon) and Floor Leader Dean Plocher (R-St. Louis County) visit (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

The bill from Budget Chairman Cody Smith (R-Carthage) establishes the Committee on Local Recovery Accountability and Transparency to conduct oversight of stimulus money.

“This is counties and cities, namely. They’re about to receive hundreds of millions, if not billions, of direct federal aid from Congress, through the American Rescue Plan,” Smith says.

President Joe Biden (D) signed the American Rescue Plan of 2021. Under Smith’s bill, there would be a bipartisan five-member committee to provide oversight of funds received by cities and counties. The committee would include a Missouri House member, a state senator, state budget director Dan Haug, State Auditor Nicole Galloway (D) and State Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick (R).

“Ultimately what we’re trying to do here is avoid any waste, fraud and abuse that takes place at times when we’re seeing a tremendous amount of stimulus spending will be going around the state,” says Smith.

Smith’s two-page House Bill 1356 would require Missouri local governments to report receipt of rescue plan funds and their expenditures within 30 days.

Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and Missouri House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith (R-Carthage), which was recorded on April 23, 2021:

Cody Smith: Missouri expects to receive billions under new stimulus package (AUDIO)

March 8, 2021 By Brian Hauswirth

Legislation creating a new fund for the billions of dollars Missouri is expected to receive from a new federal stimulus package will be unveiled Monday afternoon in Jefferson City.

Missouri House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith, R-Carthage, testifies before a House committee in Jefferson City on February 24, 2021 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith (R-Carthage) tells Missourinet that any money from the “American Rescue Plan of 2021” and any future stimulus money would go into the new fund.

“And the intent there is to set up the fund to receive those funds from this next round of federal stimulus, and keep them separate from all of the other funds that we have in the state treasury for transparency purposes, for management purposes,” Smith says.

Smith says it would also assist with planning purposes.

The U.S. Senate and House have approved different versions of the $1.9 trillion stimulus package. CNBC reports the U.S. House will have to sign off on the Senate’s changes, before the bill can be signed by President Joe Biden (D).

As for Chairman Smith, he says it’s unclear yet how much money specifically will be coming to Missouri. But he notes it will be in the billions.

“It’s generally agreed upon and thought that Missouri will receive billions of dollars with this next round of stimulus for various purposes. And so while we don’t know exactly how much, we do anticipate that it will be a lot of money,” says Smith.

Smith will present his two-page bill on Monday afternoon, to the Budget Committee in Jefferson City. Under House Bill 1236, State Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick would be the new fund’s custodian.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s interview with Missouri House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith (R-Carthage), which was recorded on March 5, 2021: