Sec. 130001 Coronavirus Accountability and Transparency Committee
Establishment of the Coronavirus Accountability and Transparency committee— There is established the Coronavirus Accountability and Transparency Committee within the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency to coordinate and support Inspectors General in conducting oversight of covered funds to detect and prevent fraud, waste, and abuse.
Composition of committee—
Chairperson— The Chairperson of the Committee shall be an Inspector General, identified in paragraph (2)(A) with experience managing oversight of large organizations and expenditures and shall be selected by the Chair of the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency.
Members— The members of the Committee shall include—
the Inspectors General of the Departments of Commerce, Defense, Education, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Labor, Transportation, Treasury, Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, Veterans Affairs, and the Small Business Administration; and
any other Inspector General as designated by the Chair of the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency.
Functions of the committee—
Functions—
In general— The Committee shall coordinate and assist Inspectors General in the oversight of covered funds and the response of the Executive Branch to the Coronavirus Pandemic in order to prevent fraud, waste, and abuse.
Specific functions— The functions of the Committee shall include—
developing a strategic plan to ensure Inspectors General effectively and efficiently conduct comprehensive oversight over all aspects of the covered funds and the response by the Executive Branch to the Coronavirus;
serving as a liaison to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, Secretary of the Treasury, and other officials responsible for implementing this Act;
supporting audits and investigations of covered funds to determine whether wasteful spending, poor contract or grant management, or other abuses are occurring and referring matters the Committee considers appropriate for audit or investigation to the Inspector General for the agency that disbursed the covered funds or more than one Inspector General, as appropriate;
supporting reviews of contracts, grants, and other assistance that use using covered funds or that are otherwise related to Coronavirus by assessing whether—
the contracts, grants, and other assistance meet applicable standards;
the contracts, grants, and other assistance adequately specify the purpose of the contract, grant, or other assistance, as well as applicable measures of performance; and
there are sufficient qualified acquisition and grant personnel overseeing the use of covered funds; and
reviewing whether there are appropriate mechanisms for interagency collaboration relating to covered funds, including coordinating and collaborating to the extent practicable with State and local government entities.
Reports—
Reports— The Committee shall submit to the President and Congress, including the appropriate congressional committees, timely alerts on current or potential management and funding problems that require immediate attention. The Committee also shall submit to Congress such other reports as the Committee considers appropriate on the use and benefits of covered funds and the response of the Executive Branch to the Coronavirus.
Biannual reports— The Committee shall submit reports every six months to the President and the appropriate congressional committees, summarizing the findings of the Committee and Inspectors General of agencies. The Committee may submit additional reports as appropriate.
Public availability—
In general— All reports submitted under this paragraph shall be made publicly available and posted on the website established by subsection (e).
Redactions— Any portion of a report submitted under this paragraph may be redacted when made publicly available, if that portion would disclose information that is not subject to disclosure under sections 552 and 552a of title 5, United States Code.
Recommendations—
In general— The Committee, in coordination with the member Inspectors General, shall make recommendations to agencies and to Congress, including the appropriate committees, on measures to prevent fraud, waste, and abuse relating to covered funds.
Responsive reports— Not later than 30 days after receipt of a recommendation under subparagraph (A), an agency shall submit a report to the President, the congressional committees of jurisdiction, and the appropriate congressional committees, on—
whether the agency agrees or disagrees with the recommendations; and
any specific action or action plan the agency will take to implement the recommendations.
Powers and authorities of the committee—
In general— The Committee shall coordinate and support investigations, audits and reviews of spending of covered funds to avoid duplication and overlap of work and ensure that there are not gaps in oversight activities by the member Inspectors General. If a gap in oversight is identified, the Committee shall request that an Inspector General or more than one Inspector General, designated by the Chair, conduct the appropriate audit or review.
Audits and investigations— The Committee may—
provide all necessary support to an Inspector General or Inspectors General in the conduct of investigations, audits, evaluations, and reviews relating to covered funds and Coronavirus response; and
collaborate on investigations, audits and reviews relating to covered funds and Coronavirus response with any Inspector General of an agency or more than one Inspectors General.
Authorities—
Audits and investigations— In providing assistance to Inspectors General in the conduct of investigations, audits and reviews, the Committee shall have the authorities provided under section 6 of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.). The Committee may issue subpoenas to compel the testimony of persons and may enforce subpoenas in the event of a refusal to obey by order of any appropriate United States district court as provided for Inspector General subpoenas under section 6 of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.).
Standards and guidelines— The Committee shall carry out the powers under paragraphs (1) and (2) in accordance with section 4(b)(1) of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.).
Report of refusals— Whenever information or assistance requested by the Committee or an Inspector General, is unreasonably refused or not provided, the Committee shall immediately report the circumstances to the appropriate committees.
Information and assistance— Upon request of the Committee for information or assistance from any agency or other entity of the Federal Government, or any recipient under this Act, the head of such entity shall, insofar as is practicable and not in contravention of any existing law, and consistent with section 6 of the Inspector General Act of 1978, as amended, furnish such information or assistance to the Committee.
Contracts— The Council may enter into contracts to enable the Committee to discharge its duties under this Act, including contracts for audits, studies, analyses, and other services with public agencies and private persons, and make such payments as may be necessary to carry out the duties of the Committee.
Transfer of funds— The Council may transfer funds appropriated to the Council under this section for administrative support services and any audits, investigations, reviews, or other activities to any office of Inspector General.
Employment and personnel authorities—
In general—
Authorities— The Council may exercise the authorities of subsections (b) through (i) of section 3161 of title 5, United States Code, (without regard to subsection (a) of that section) to carry out the Committee’s functions under this section.
Application— For purposes of exercising the authorities described under clause (i), the term Chairperson of the Council shall be substituted for the term head of a temporary organization.
Consultation— In exercising the authorities described under clause (i), the Chairperson shall consult with members of the Committee.
Employment authorities— In exercising the employment authorities under subsection (b) of section 3161 of title 5, United States Code, paragraph (2) of subsection (b) of section 3161 of that title (relating to periods of appointments) shall not apply and no period of appointment may exceed the date on which the Committee terminates under subsection (i).
Detail of personnel— In addition to the authority provided by subsection (c) of section 3161 of title 5, United States Code, upon the request of an Inspector General, the Council may detail, on a nonreimbursable basis, any personnel of the Committee to that Inspector General to assist in carrying out any audit or investigation referred to the Inspector General by the Committee.
Rehiring annuitants— The Committee may employ annuitants covered by section 9902(g) of title 5, United States Code, for purposes of the oversight of covered funds or the Coronavirus response. The employment of annuitants under this subparagraph shall be subject to the provisions of section 9902(g) of title 5, United States Code, as if the Committee was the Department of Defense.
Competitive status— A person employed by the Committee shall acquire competitive status for appointment to any position in the competitive service for which the employee possesses the required qualifications upon the completion of 2 years of continuous service as an employee under this subsection. No person who is first employed more than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act may acquire competitive status under this authority.
Committee website—
Establishment— The Committee shall utilize www.Oversight.gov to establish and maintain, no later than 30 days after the enactment of this Act, a public-facing website for accountability and transparency in the use of covered funds.
Purpose— The website established and maintained under paragraph (1) shall provide information relating to implementation of this Act and provide connections to other government websites with related information.
Content and function— In establishing the website established and maintained under paragraph (1), the Committee shall ensure the website—
provides materials explaining what this Act means for citizens in plain language and shall be regularly updated;
provides accountability information, including findings from audits, investigations, or reviews conducted by the Committee, Inspectors General, and the Government Accountability Office;
provides data made available in a searchable, sortable, downloadable, and machine-readable format;
provides—
data on how funds provided under this Act are spent including through relevant economic, financial, grant, subgrant, contract, subcontract, loan, and other relevant information with a unique, trackable identification number for each project where applicable; and
information about the process that was used for the award of loans, grants, or contracts, and for contracts over $150,000, an explanation of the contract agreement where applicable;
includes searchable, sortable, downloadable, machine-readable reports on covered funds obligated by month to each State and congressional district where applicable;
includes detailed information on Federal Government contracts, grants, and loans that expend covered funds, using, where applicable, the data elements required by the Digital Access and Transparency Act (Public Law 113–101), and shall allow for aggregate reporting on awards below $50,000 or to individuals, as prescribed by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget;
includes appropriate links to other government websites with information concerning covered funds, including Federal agency and State websites;
provides information on Federal allocations of formula grants and awards of competitive grants using covered funds;
provides, if applicable, information on Federal allocations of mandatory and other entitlement programs by State, county, or other appropriate geographical unit;
be enhanced and updated as necessary to carry out the purposes of this section; and
presents the data such that funds subawarded by recipients are not double counted in search results, data visualizations or other reports.
Waiver— The Committee may exclude posting contractual or other information on the website on a case-by-case basis when necessary to protect information that is not subject to disclosure under sections 552 and 552a of title 5, United States Code.
Independence of inspectors general—
Independent authority— Nothing in this section shall affect the independent authority of an Inspector General or the Comptroller General to determine whether to conduct an audit or investigation of covered funds.
Requests by committee— If the Committee requests that an Inspector General conduct or refrain from conducting an audit or investigation and such Inspector General rejects such request in whole or in part, such Inspector General shall, not later than 30 days after rejecting the request, submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees. The report shall state the reasons that such Inspector General has rejected the request in whole or in part.
Coordination with the comptroller general and state auditors— The Committee shall coordinate its oversight activities with the Comptroller General of the United States and State and local auditors.
Authorization of appropriations— For the purposes of carrying out the mission of the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency under section 11 of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) and to carry out this section, there are authorized to be appropriated into the revolving fund described in subsection (c)(3)(B) of such section, out of any amount in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, $100,000,000 to carry out the duties and functions of the Council.
Termination of the committee— The Committee and its authorities and responsibilities shall terminate on the later of—
the date the last grant administered under this Act is expended;
the date the last contract administered under this Act expires;
the date the last loan or loan guarantee provided under this Act matures or expires, as appropriate; or
the date the last instrument or asset acquired by the Federal Government has been sold or transferred out of the ownership or control of the Federal Government, or otherwise disposed of.
Definitions— In this section:
Committee— The term Committee means the Coronavirus Accountability and Transparency Committee established in subsection (a).
Covered funds— The term covered funds means any funds that are made available, in any form, under this Act.
Recipient— The term recipient means a recipient of Federal funds under this Act.
Appropriate congressional committees— The term appropriate congressional committees means the Committees on Appropriations and Homeland Security of the Senate and Committees on Appropriations and Oversight and Reform in the House of Representatives.