evidence: Total spent in pandemic relief programs $5.2T $1B [...] - U.S. watchdogs guarding $5 trillion in covid aid say they need more money. Read more [...] Congress at one point sent about $500 billion directly to cities, counties and states to shore up their budgets. But the money often came with few rules. Republican officials, in particular, found ways to channel the funds to pet projects with no relation to the pandemic, including cutting taxes and building border walls.