"We have no higher priority than making sure the money gets to those working families struggling to pay rent and put food on the table who need it most," Pelosi added.
"The fact is, we do need transparency, and we do need accountability," the Speaker said.
.@SpeakerPelosi announces formation of bipartisan House Select Committee on Coronavirus Crisis, chaired by @WhipClyburn.
— CSPAN (@cspan) April 2, 2020
Full audio here: https://t.co/1TLg0ctJHF pic.twitter.com/3bulJdCbNz
In making the announcement, the Speaker said this panel would be different than the call by other Democrats for a '9-11 Commission' about the Coronavirus, saying the emphasis must be on what's happening right now - not what happened before.
"The Select Committee is about the here and now," Pelosi added.
In describing the job of the new panel, the Speaker compared this to the work of the Truman Commission, named for then Sen. Harry Truman, who was put in charge of a panel which held hearings and investigated waste, fraud, and abuse related to the war effort during World War II.
And @SpeakerPelosi announced formation of a bipartisan coronavirus select committee, for oversight of the funding, cites Truman commission formed during World War Two, not after, to prevent waste, fraud and abuse. #COVIDー19
— Patricia Zengerle (@ReutersZengerle) April 2, 2020
The idea - which would need a vote of the House to create the panel and fund its operations - drew immediate opposition from the top Republican in the House.
"This seems really redundant," said Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), who told reporters by phone that he did not support the selection of Clyburn to run the panel, as the GOP leader questioned the goal, and said there was no reason to take oversight away from regular committees of the House.
"I'm not quite sure if this is political," McCarthy added in a news briefing by telephone with reporters.
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