Watchdogs say Trump administration limiting oversight of virus aid

WASHINGTON (AP) — Government watchdogs are warning that a legal determination by the Trump administration could severely limit their ability to oversee more than $1 trillion in spending related to the coronavirus pandemic.

In a letter to four congressional committees, a panel of inspectors general overseeing a sweeping economic rescue law said an “ambiguity” in the law could block the watchdogs from conducting independent oversight.

The letter from Michael Horowitz and Robert Westbrooks, the officials leading the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, cites a May 7 memo by the Treasury Department’s legal counsel concluding that disclosure requirements in the rescue law do not extend to more than $1 trillion in spending — nearly half of the $2.4 trillion committed to the rescue law by Congress.

“If this interpretation of the CARES Act were correct, it would raise questions about PRAC’s authority to conduct oversight” of spending that includes federal loans for small businesses, aid to cities, states and tribes and other programs, the letter says.

The CARES Act is the rescue law’s formal name.

“This would present potentially significant transparency and oversight issues because (the spending in question) includes over $1 trillion in funding,” the letter says.

Horowitz is the Justice Department inspector general and acting chairman of the PRAC panel, while Wesbrooks is the group’s executive director.

The warning comes as lawmakers complain that the Trump administration has repeatedly blocked efforts to oversee the rescue law, including refusing to turn over detailed information about companies that applied for and received federal loans intended for small businesses.

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