The Trump administration quietly spent billions in hospital funds on Operation Warp Speed

[speak easy]

Source: Stat News

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration quietly took around $10 billion from a fund meant to help hospitals and health care providers affected by Covid-19 and used the money to bankroll Operation Warp Speed contracts, four former Trump administration officials told STAT.

The Department of Health and Human Services appears to have used a financial maneuver that allowed officials to spend the money without telling Congress, and the agency got permission from its top lawyer to do so. Now, the Biden administration is refusing to say whether the outlay means there will be less money available for hospitals, physicians, nursing homes, and other providers.

Several provider groups said they had not heard that $10 billion for providers was spent on Warp Speed contracts until STAT’s reporting. Congress set aside that money to help health care providers pay for pandemic-related expenses including staffing, personal protective equipment, care for uninsured patients, and vaccine distribution. One of the top hospital lobbyists in D.C., who also did not know about the outlay, emphasized how much some hospitals still need the funding.

“Hospitals in need of the funding would be outraged to know that some of the money was siphoned off, even for important uses, because Congress was clear that this money was for providers and clinicians,” said Chip Kahn, CEO of the Federation of American Hospitals.


Read more: https://www.statnews.com/2021/03/02/trump-administration-quietly-spent-billions-in-hospital-funds-on-operation-warp-speed/

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Yahoo Report

The Trump administration reportedly quietly funded Operation Warp Speed with money set aside for hospitals
https://news.yahoo.com/trump-administration-reportedly-quietly-funded-165519534.html

[modrepub]

1. We Vastly Underestimate The Power Of The Purse

or Executive branch. Why else do you think Republican covent the control of Legislative/Executive branches? That's where the power to spend (government) monies comes from.

Would be nice to grant more power on government spending to the groups that actually pay the taxes. I've seen many places note that Democratic areas produce about twice the GDP (and by default taxes) as their Republican counterparts. Maybe more say to those areas paying taxes to those areas that absorb tax revenue would provide a "unity" incentive?

[onecaliberal]

2. Don't worry, nothing will be done. We have democratic governors and other democratic officials to

to hound and investigate.

[Budi]

8. K & R

[PSPS]

3. "to bankroll Operation Warp Speed contracts" means line the wallets of jared et al

[iluvtennis]

12. Exactly! Pharmaceutical companies been working on mNRA technology for over a dozen years - they

needed no money for trump for their Research & Development efforts.

[mpcamb]

13. That needs a full accounting of where that money wound up.

10 BILLION dollars!

[Budi]

4. And we're allowing NY Gov Cuomo to be admonished for any lack ..

..of absolute efficiency while his city railed helplessly against Covid, as one of the 1st & worst affected in the nation.

As he repeatedly asked for an assist from Trump admin, he was ingnored, mocked & dismissed for NY being a Blue State.

I refuse to now hold Cuomo accountable for an abominable crisis lain upon his City, at a time when so little was known about the virus.

It was Trump who fired President Obama & VP Biden's Pandemic Response Team who would have offered the 1st hand necessary data & assistance Gov Cuomo & our other 1st affected States were in dire need of.

It was Trump who left America to figure it out for themselves while they watched their people die.

While Trump pals stole the funds...

[Jay25]

9. Totally agree.

He set a precedent for other states, and emphasized just how contagious and deadly covid really was.

[Budi]

10. I think back to the beginning crisis. It was Relentless. Horrific

As we all stood there helpless & watched, & hid in our homes, Trump stole billion$.
I truly hate him & all he represents.

[MFM008]

5. So he could get the glory

Of the vaccine discovery instead of using it for people who are actually sick that was his plan and it did not work it's failed unfortunately it cost a lot of people their lives.

[bucolic_frolic]

6. For Serial Money Diverters, they sure were incompetent at finding cash they could move

They diverted Pentagon $ for the Wall, and hospital $ for Warp Speed

And why is it always $10 Billion? Was that the value of the masks that were diverted overseas? Were they sold? Where'd the money go?

[Captain Zero]

17. I thought they kept saying drug companies were developing vaccines on their own dime??

Which is it? If the drug companies did not get any of this siphoned money where did it go?

If you read Rachel Maddows book this is the kind of shit that happens with Putin in Russia, they siphon off a lot of health care money and food money to other things that end up in oligarch's pockets.

[bucolic_frolic]

18. As with despots everywhere. It's almost Bourbonesque! /nt

[bluestarone]

7. QRUMP raped our country for 4 years, with

The complete BLESSING of the RETHUGLICON congress. Just want to add here that even after discovering this Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema won't help to STOP and Investigate this BULLSHIT!! (there i got it out of my system)

[Joinfortmill]

11. Why am I not surprised?

[BobTheSubgenius]

14. He was really, really good at misappropriating funds. You have to give him that.

Money from the military to build a massive graffiti project on the southern border, and taking money from one part of health care, putting it into a different part of health care, and calling it a victory.

A great time had by all, until the music stops.

[NHvet]

15. I'm shocked!! Shocked I say!!

Not really. You haven't been paying attention if you didn't think this kind of thing would happen.

[Captain Zero]

16. I think we have to ask if it all got to Warp Speed, because I keep hearing all this talk about

the drug companies developed the vaccines on their own. Right?
Can't have it both ways, and if the drug companies say they developed it on their own where did the siphoned money from hospital and clinical providers actually go??? hmmmm?