Of Pots and Kettles

Amidst the worst inflation and highest gasoline prices in U.S. history, imminent food shortages, a looming energy crisis, and a demonstrably avoidable Ukrainian war into which the Biden administration has pumped $54-billion of taxpayer money, Democrat lawmakers are heeding the big picture by prevailing upon the U.S. Treasury Department to launch an investigation into how airlines utilized federal COVID relief funds.

In a letter to the Treasury Department’s deputy inspector general, Congressional Representatives. Carolyn Maloney (Dem. New York) and James Clyburn (Dem. South Carolina) allege U.S. airlines willfully applied federal funds earmarked for the preservation of aviation jobs, the compensation of air carrier industry workers, and the sustainment of scheduled flight operations to buyouts and staff reductions.

The pair wrote: "We are concerned that some airlines have used federal funds obtained during the pandemic to provide buyouts and early retirement packages for pilots, which may be exacerbating a shortage of commercial pilots. As a result of pilot shortages, thousands of flights have been delayed or canceled, wreaking havoc on travel plans for millions of American taxpayers."

Under the provisions of the CARES Act of 2020 and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021—which together handed out more than $60-billion—air-carriers that accepted relief monies were prohibited from conducting involuntary furloughs or reducing pay rates and employee benefits. Maloney and Clyburn allege three leading U.S. airlines to which COVID relief funds were disbursed each cut substantial shares of their workforces and urged employees to take early retirement.

Maloney and Clyburn surreptitiously criticized airlines, stating: "American taxpayers supported the airline industry during its darkest days at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, when nearly 75% of commercial flights were grounded. Americans deserve transparency into how airlines have used the federal funds they have received."

Parroting an audit from the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Inspector General, Maloney and Clyburn—whose personal net worths are $25-million and $9.34-million respectively—tacitly alleged airlines were afflicted with "pervasive issues,” to include specious payroll calculations that impact the "accuracy of recipient award amounts" received under Congressional mandate. The pair also cited a 2020 report in which the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis claimed the U.S. Treasury Department had allowed aviation contractors receiving full federal payroll support based on pre-pandemic workforce numbers to lay off thousands of workers. No mention was made of the fact that Clyburn chairs subject committee.

Maloney’s and Clyburn’s letter concludes: "The Committees request that you [Treasury Department deputy inspector general] complete a thorough review of the federal funding Treasury has disbursed to airlines to sustain their operations during the coronavirus pandemic, including an accounting for how the funds were disbursed and used by each airline recipient and whether any funds were used for buyouts or staff reductions."

FMI: https://sgp.fas.org/crs/misc/RL30631.pdf