The federal government handed over nearly $76 billion to colleges and universities from COVID-19 federal funding packages, despite the colleges and universities having billions of dollars in their endowment funds, according to data compiled by OpenTheBooks.
The Cares Act, The Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (CRRSSA) and The American Rescue Plan Act contained over $5 trillion in federal COVID-19 relief funds, of which nearly $76 billion was handed over to colleges and universities, according to data compiled by OpenTheBooks, a government transparency watchdog organization. Sixteen of the universities with the largest endowments received nearly $4 billion in federal COVID-19 relief funds. (RELATED: Conservative Legal Group Sues Major Law Firms Over Diversity Fellowships)
“Here’s yet another glaring example of the sheer recklessness of pandemic relief spending. Trillions of our hard-earned tax dollars were squandered without congressional restraint or a shred of analysis to ascertain genuine need. Congress adopted a ‘spend now, sort it out later’ mentality,” OpenTheBooks founder & CEO Adam Andrzejewski said in a statement.
CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA – JUNE 29: People walk on the campus of the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill on June 29, 2023 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Eros Hoagland/Getty Images)
Among the larger schools, University of California System (UCS), University of Texas System (UTS) and Texas A&M University System (TAMUS) took nearly $1.34 billion, $1 billion and $208 million respectively, according to data compiled by OpenTheBooks.
Some of the schools with the largest endowments decided not to take the money despite being qualified, according to data compiled by Open The Books. Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Notre Dame, Washington University St. Louis and Northwestern passed on the funds.
University of North Carolina System (UNCS), Ohio State University (OSU) and University of Southern California (USC) took nearly $381 million, $223 million and $103 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds respectively, according to data compiled by OpenTheBooks.
“In the case of these wealthy colleges, they were technically eligible but had little to no financial need. However, every dime was borrowed against our national debt — which now pushes $33 trillion. How these wealthy colleges were eligible for a bailout is an outright scandal,” Andrzejewski said in a statement.
UCS, UTS, TAMUS, UNCS, USC and OSU did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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