Veterans, carpenters and vaccines: What's at stake if US COVID aid is canceled

FILE PHOTO: The sign of the Department of Veteran Affairs is seen in front of the headquarters building in Washington, May 23, 2014. REUTERS/Larry Downing

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A Republican proposal to cancel unspent COVID-19 relief money could undercut healthcare for military veterans and pensions for blue-collar workers while doing little to improve the U.S. fiscal picture, a Reuters review of federal spending figures found.

The flood of COVID-relief aid -- $5.2 trillion in all -- that Congress approved in 2020 and 2021 under Republican President Donald Trump and his Democratic successor Joe Biden has emerged as an early target for House of Representatives Republicans as they search for ways to rein in federal spending.