Republican Study Committee Chairman Kevin Hern (OK-01) and RSC Budget and Spending Task Force Chairman Ben Cline (VA-06) led a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen calling for the Treasury Department to reverse course on a recent rule change allowing for state and local governments to “obligate” funding from the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act past its statutory deadline of December 31, 2024.

The federal government ended the public health emergency in May 2023. Instead of enforcing the statutory deadline of December 31, 2024, for obligations from the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (SLFRF), the Treasury Department’s rule allows states and local governments to submit a plan detailing their plans for obligating funds by April 30, 2024. The Biden Administration is intent on redefining “obligation” and enabling other agencies to ignore future congressional statutes in order to perpetuate further wasteful spending.

34 additional Members of Congress join Chairmen Hern and Cline on the letter: Representatives Jeff Duncan, Michael Cloud, Randy Weber, August Pfluger, Beth Van Duyne, Ralph Norman, Harriet Hageman, Lance Gooden, Scott Franklin, Doug LaMalfa, Scott Fitzgerald, James Baird, Ronny Jackson, Chuck Edwards, Austin Scott, Josh Brecheen, Rich McCormick, Joe Wilson, Barry Moore, Claudia Tenney, Glenn Grothman, Andy Biggs, Eli Crane, Alex Mooney, Eric Burlison, Pat Fallon, Byron Donalds, Kat Cammack, Mike Collins, Rudy Yakym, Bob Good, Erin Houchin, Keith Self, and Troy Balderson.

The letter also has the support of the Economic Policy Innovation Center (EPIC).

“The Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (SLFRF), which the Biden Administration has treated like a slush fund, is a quintessential example of government waste, and a critical opportunity for taxpayer savings. Even worse than the initial waste is Treasury’s new Hoarding Rule, which allows states to stash this money for later unspecified uses. We are grateful to Congressmen Cline and Hern and their 34 Congressional colleagues who joined them in championing common sense and highlighting these abuses, including Treasury’s overreach on the definition of an obligation.”—Brittany Madni, Executive Vice President, Economic Policy Innovation Center

The full text of the letter can be found here.

Read more coverage from Semafor here.