Democrats question governor's federal COVID spending

Members of the House Democratic Caucus, including five from Shelby County, are seeking a state Comptroller’s audit of Gov. Bill Lee’s federal-COVID-funds spending amid questions about its effectiveness.

Tennessee received $2.3 billion after Congress approved the CARES Act in March. Nearly $1 billion of that amount is committed to shoring up the state’s unemployment insurance fund. Other large chunks are going toward small business grants, K-12 education and agriculture.

Written by Nashville Democratic state Rep. John Ray Clemmons, the letter points toward $80 million in no-bid spending by the Governor’s Office, including $8.3 million for 5 million sock masks from Renfro Corp., an out-of-state company, and $6.8 million for a no-bid deal with Pale Horse GRS in which the state doled out $2.55 per N-95 mask while paying another vendor 54 cents for each mask.

The Lee Administration also set up a deal to pay East Tennessee Republican state Rep. Jerry Sexton’s company to supply $165,000 worth of hospital gowns at $5.50 per gown, twice as much as the amount paid other vendors.

Read more: https://dailymemphian.com/section/metro/article/17266/tennessee-democrats-question-bill-lee-coronavirus-spending