The Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC) is an independent oversight committee within the
Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency
The Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE) addresses integrity, economy, and effectiveness issues that transcend individual Government agencies; and increase the professionalism and effectiveness of personnel by de ...
, created by the
Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act of 2020 to ensure that the $2.2 trillion of the CARES act, plus 5 other pandemic-related pieces of legislation totaling over $5 trillion in government funds, were not misspent.
Creation
The provision creating the PRAC, Section 15010, was offered by Rep.
Carolyn Maloney
Carolyn Jane Maloney (née Bosher, February 19, 1946) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2013, and for from 1993 to 2013. The district includes most of Manhattan's East Side, Astoria and Long Island City i ...
(D-NY), Chair of the
United States House Committee on Oversight and Reform
The Committee on Oversight and Reform is the main investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives.
The committee's broad jurisdiction and legislative authority make it one of the most influential and powerful panels in the ...
, and Sen.
Gary Peters
Gary Charles Peters Sr. (born December 1, 1958) is an American lawyer, politician, and former military officer serving as the junior United States senator from Michigan since 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the U.S. representativ ...
(D-MI), Ranking Member of the
. The CARES Act also specified a new position of
Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery
The Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery (SIGPR) is an Inspector General position created by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act of 2020 to oversee spending of government funds in response to the COVID-19 p ...
within the
United States Department of the Treasury
The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and t ...
.
President
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
signed the legislation into law on March 27, 2020, but objected to stipulations that involved congressional oversight citing constitutional concerns regarding separation of powers.
The PRAC was created within the
Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency
The Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE) addresses integrity, economy, and effectiveness issues that transcend individual Government agencies; and increase the professionalism and effectiveness of personnel by de ...
(CIGIE). On April 1, 2020, the CIGIE released a statement that, "The PRAC will promote transparency and support independent oversight of the funds provided by the CARES Act and two prior emergency spending bills, the
and the
Families First Coronavirus Response Act" and, more generally, "prevent and detect fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement
ndmitigate major risks that cut across program and agency boundaries."
History
![Glenn A](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/Glenn_A._Fine_official_photo.jpg)
On March 30, 2020,
Michael E. Horowitz
Michael Evan Horowitz (born September 19, 1962) is an American attorney and government official. He is the Inspector General of the United States Department of Justice.
Early life and education
Horowitz is the son of Anne J. and Fred Horowitz. ...
, chair of the CIGIE and
Inspector General
An inspector general is an investigative official in a civil or military organization. The plural of the term is "inspectors general".
Australia
The Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (Australia) (IGIS) is an independent statutory off ...
of the
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...
, as authorized by the CARE Act, appointed
Glenn A. Fine
Glenn Alan Fine (born March 22, 1956) is the former principal deputy Inspector General of the Department of Defense and former Acting IG of the Department of Defense. Fine previously served as the Inspector General of the United States Departme ...
, acting
Inspector General
An inspector general is an investigative official in a civil or military organization. The plural of the term is "inspectors general".
Australia
The Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (Australia) (IGIS) is an independent statutory off ...
of the
U.S. Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secur ...
, to be the chair of the PRAC.
[ Senate Minority Leader ]Chuck Schumer
Charles Ellis Schumer ( ; born November 23, 1950) is an American politician serving as Senate Majority Leader since January 20, 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, Schumer is in his fourth Senate term, having held his seat since 1999, and ...
(D-N.Y.) praised Fine's appointment. On April 1, Horowitz and Fine announced that Paul K. Martin
Paul K. Martin is an American lawyer and the Inspector General of the U.S. Agency for International Development, having been confirmed by the U.S. Senate in December 2023. He previously served as Inspector General of the National Aeronautics and S ...
, Inspector General
An inspector general is an investigative official in a civil or military organization. The plural of the term is "inspectors general".
Australia
The Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (Australia) (IGIS) is an independent statutory off ...
of NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
, was appointed Vice Chair of PRAC. They further announced that the nine statutory members of the PRAC would be joined by twelve non-statutory members, for a total of 21 members.[ In response to President Trump's removal on April 3 of ]Inspector General of the Intelligence Community
The Inspector General Act of 1978 is a United
States federal law that created Inspectors General for federal agencies and provides broad authorities for overseeing programs, promoting efficiencies, and detecting fraud, waste, and mismanagement ...
Michael Atkinson, CIGIE Chair Horowitz stated, "The Inspector General Community will continue to conduct aggressive, independent oversight of the agencies that we oversee. This includes CIGIE’s Pandemic Response Accountability Committee and its efforts on behalf of American taxpayers, families, businesses, patients, and health care providers to ensure that over $2 trillion dollars in emergency federal spending is being used consistently with the law’s mandate."
On April 7, 2020, President Trump removed Fine from his position as acting IG for the Defense Department. Although Fine retained his position as principal deputy IG for the Defense Department, his removal as acting IG made him ineligible to chair the PRAC. Fine, who had filled various inspector general
An inspector general is an investigative official in a civil or military organization. The plural of the term is "inspectors general".
Australia
The Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (Australia) (IGIS) is an independent statutory off ...
positions for 15 years under both Democratic and Republican administrations, was not given a reason for his dismissal. Former Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis
James Norman Mattis (born September 8, 1950) is a retired United States Marine Corps four-star general who served as the 26th US secretary of defense from 2017 to 2019. During his 44 years in the Marine Corps, he commanded forces in the Persia ...
immediately released a rare public rebuke of the firing. The next day, legislation was introduced to allow Fine to continue as chair the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, while Sens. Elizabeth Warren
Elizabeth Ann Warren ( née Herring; born June 22, 1949) is an American politician and former law professor who is the senior United States senator from Massachusetts, serving since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party and regarded as a ...
(D-Mass) and Richard Blumenthal
Richard Blumenthal (; born February 13, 1946) is an American lawyer and politician who is the senior United States senator from Connecticut, a seat he has held since 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he is one of the wealthiest members of ...
(D-Conn) released a letter urging Horowitz to take the PRAC chair himself, stating, "with the exception of firing a score of Inspectors General and replacing them with handpicked toadies, there is little that President Trump can do to prevent the PRAC from doing its job of overseeing the federal government's coronavirus response." Horowitz became acting chair of the PRAC. Fine resigned from government service on May 25.
On April 27, 2020, CIGIE Chair Horowitz named Bob Westbrooks, who had been Inspector General of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) is a United States federally chartered corporation created by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to encourage the continuation and maintenance of voluntary private defined b ...
from May 2015, to be the executive director responsible for day-to-day functions. Horowitz also announced a website to collect oversight data and reports conducted by the PRAC, individual IGs, and the Government Accountability Office
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is a legislative branch government agency that provides auditing, evaluative, and investigative services for the United States Congress. It is the supreme audit institution of the federal govern ...
, as stipulated in the CARES Act, as well as a Twitter account.
Former inspector general David C. Williams expressed concern that the dismissals of several inspectors general with seats on the PRAC may negatively affect the functioning of the committee. Some replacements are political appointees that will retain their current positions reporting to officials within the Trump administration. Williams expressed doubt that "the career investigators on the committee will feel comfortable discussing sensitive matters with political appointees still working in other roles within the administration" and that the PRAC may thus be of limited value.
On June 11, Horowitz and Westbrook revealed that attorneys in the Treasury Department had concluded that the Trump administration is not required to provide information about who is receiving funds under the CARES Act's Division A. The PRAC heads stated, "If this interpretation of the CARES Act were correct, it would raise questions about PRAC's authority to conduct oversight of Division A funds. This would present potentially significant transparency and oversight issues because Division A of the CARES Act includes over $1 trillion in funding." This followed the earlier refusal by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin
Steven Terner Mnuchin ( ; born December 21, 1962) is an American investment banker and film producer who served as the 77th United States secretary of the treasury as part of the Cabinet of Donald Trump from 2017 to 2021. Serving for a full pres ...
to provide the names of recipients of the Paycheck Protection Program
The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) is a $953-billion business loan program established by the United States federal government during the Donald Trump administration in 2020 through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES A ...
. In response, House Oversight Committee chair Carolyn Maloney said, "If the Trump administration is committed to full cooperation and transparency with taxpayer dollars, it is unclear why it is manufacturing legal loopholes to avoid responding to legitimate oversight requests."
Membership of the PRAC
There are nine statutory inspectors general specified as PRAC members in the CARES Act.[
On April 1, 2020, CIGIE Chair Michael Horowitz and inaugural PRAC Chair Glenn Fine announced the below additional inspectors general would serve as members of the PRAC.][
]
See also
* COVID-19 Congressional Oversight Commission The COVID-19 Congressional Oversight Commission (COC) is an oversight body in the United States created by the CARES Act. They will report to Congress every 30 days on how the Department of the Treasury and the Federal Reserve Board manage the fund ...
* Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery
The Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery (SIGPR) is an Inspector General position created by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act of 2020 to oversee spending of government funds in response to the COVID-19 p ...
*
References
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pandemic Response Accountability Committee
U.S. federal government response to the COVID-19 pandemic
Law associated with the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
United States Inspectors General
Organizations established in 2020
Executive branch of the government of the United States