SEATTLE — Many are wondering if an attack ad targeting Democratic Representative Kim Schrier is true. The ad, funded by Congressional Leadership Fund, claims spending by President Joe Biden and Schrier is funding luxury resorts.
Schrier represents Washington’s Congressional District 8, which covers parts of Snohomish, King, Pierce, Chelan and Kittitas counties. She’s currently running for reelection against Republican candidate Matt Larkin.
The ad is referencing how in 2021, Schrier voted to pass the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan.
THE QUESTION
Is money from the American Rescue Plan funding luxury resorts?
THE SOURCES
- The American Rescue Plan
- Broward County, Florida
- KING 5 political analyst, former Democratic WA Governor, Gary Locke
- KING 5 political analyst, former Republican WA Attorney General, Rob McKenna
THE ANSWER
Money from the American Rescue Plan was originally planned to fund a hotel in Broward County, Florida. However, the county says that’s no longer happening.
The context is important. While Schrier supported the larger bill, she did not specifically advocate spending money on a luxury resort. That was up to Broward County leaders.
WHAT WE FOUND
The American Rescue Plan "provides historic support for state, local, and Tribal governments to fight the pandemic – and for families and small businesses across the country to help weather its economic disruptions." It provided aid to local governments and counties across the U.S., but the use of that money had to align with what the bill is meant for.
For example, Broward County, Florida planned to use money it received to fund a hotel connected to its convention center in Fort Lauderdale.
In a statement, a Broward County spokesperson told KING 5, “The short answer is yes. The federal government originally authorized the use of these funds to continue construction projects like the Convention Center hotel. The intent was to keep people working when many businesses were shutting down. My understanding is that the guidelines by the federal government later changed.”
KING 5 political analyst and former Washington state Attorney General Rob McKenna said, “There’s always a risk when you create a huge federal spending bill that some of the money will be spent on things that, in hindsight, don’t look that great.”
Even though Broward County said it isn’t using the aid for the hotel, the bill does show the money could be used for impacted industries, such as tourism, travel and hospitality.
The U.S. Department of Treasury oversees the program. KING 5 reached out to that department several times to ask about oversight and what guidelines were changed. The Department of Treasury has not responded.
KING 5 political analyst and former Washington state Governor Gary Locke, and McKenna, agreed that while it’s difficult, oversight is necessary for a program like this.
“Oversight is important and I think the federal government generally does a pretty good job of it, but when you are pushing money out in a hurry in large amounts - and on the executive side you are being pressured by congress to put the dollars to work - it is, I think, it’s inevitable that some money will be spent on projects that in hindsight don’t look that wise, or don’t look deserving,” said McKenna.
Locke added, “You cannot write rules and regulations that cover every single conceivable scenario. The agencies are trying to develop rules and regulations to prevent some of these abuses from occurring but there will always be things that slip through.”
The legislation also states that if a local government or county uses the money for something not allowed under the act, it would be required to repay the money.
As far as the attack ad, our political analysts said a large spending bill like the American Rescue Plan is fair game.
“I think the attack ad is really just trying to use the hotel example as a way to criticize a very large bill,” said McKenna.
Locke added, “When a person votes for a big, big piece of legislation, there are thousands of different programs and elements in it, and you can always find something in that piece of legislation that can be part of an attack ad.”