Treasury secretary ignores requirement in COVID-19 law

FILE – This June 4, 2021 file photo shows Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen ahead of her meeting with Germany’s Finance Minister Olaf Scholz, as finance ministers from across the G7 nations meet at Lancaster House in London. Yellen assured Congress on Wednesday, June 16, that the Biden administration is monitoring the recent jump in inflation very carefully but still believes the increase will prove temporary. (Daniel Leal-Olivas/Pool Photo via AP, File)

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen missed an April deadline to testify before the House and Senate Small Business Committees, even though she is required to do so under the coronavirus relief bill law passed by Congress in December, Fox Business reported.

The $900 billion bill, which former President Donald Trump signed into law on Dec. 27, 2020, stipulates that the Treasury secretary and SBA administrator must testify before House and Senate committees no later than “120 days after the date of the enactment of this act.”

SBA Administrator Isabella Guzman testified on May 26.

Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO), the House committee’s ranking member, said, “While the entire country is ready, willing and eager to fight for the survival of America’s small businesses, you have ignored their plight. It is simply unacceptable.”