More than $5.7 trillion in federal money has been authorized for allocation under five pandemic stimulus packages approved by Congress between March 2020 and March 2021 with assistance awarded to a diverse mix of recipients ranging from individuals, small businesses, corporations, nonprofits, foundations, contractors, and governments of all shapes and sizes. But when the first of the five aid packages, the $2.2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES) Act, was adopted in March 2020, the sudden, massive avalanche of federal aid overwhelmed existing public-private funding sluiceways and federal grant pipelines. That crush of money created bottlenecks, costly inefficiencies, and “cronyism and corporate welfare,” critics allege. Federal oversight panels and other watchdogs, however, say lessons learned from problems that surfaced in CARES Act allocations can install efficiencies and standards benefiting taxpayers in the future. According to a trove of analyses confirmed in recent reports by the U.S. Government …