In a two-page letter to several House and Senate committees last week, but disclosed for the first time on Monday, the inspectors general responsible for coronavirus relief oversight said an “ambiguity” in the main coronavirus response law — the CARES Act — allowed administration officials to sharply limit how much of the law’s spending requirements they must collect and report. This narrow interpretation of the law, the inspectors general warn, would dramatically impede their ability to gather information about some of the most expansive programs in the law, from the $670 billion Paycheck Protection Program to the $454 billion Treasury fund to protect businesses and industries damaged by the outbreak.
The legal opinions are the latest squeeze put on inspectors general by the Trump administration, which has gradually chipped away at the ability of internal watchdogs to monitor aspects of the administration’s conduct independently. The letter from the inspectors general, first revealed by The Washington Post, was signed by the Justice Department inspector general, Michael Horowitz, who leads a panel of inspectors general charged with coronavirus-related oversight known as the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, and its executive director, Robert Westbrooks. Continue reading.