The Congressional Oversight Commission is one of three primary tools created in the CARES Act meant to oversee the Trump administration’s handling of the law. But, like the congressional panel, the other two are not yet functional, even as hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars begin to flow.
One mechanism, a special inspector general for pandemic recovery, has been nominated by Trump and is awaiting Senate confirmation. But with lawmakers out of Washington until at least April 20, and Trump’s pick of a White House lawyer for the post generating controversy, it could be weeks before an appointee is on the job.
The most powerful safeguard in the law is a panel of existing federal inspectors general known as the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, charged with monitoring the entirety of the $2 trillion implementation. Though the committee appeared ready to begin operating, Trump upended the preparations when he moved to sideline the chair — former acting Pentagon inspector general Glenn Fine.
Pelosi, meanwhile, said she’s still charging forward with a fourth layer of oversight: A House select committee chaired by House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) to streamline the House’s own review of the CARES Act implementation. Pelosi has yet to name other members of the panel and indicated Republicans would have an opportunity to pick members as well.
But it’s unclear how quickly such a committee might be established. Republicans have indicated they’re opposed to Pelosi’s proposal, leaving it unlikely to pass with unanimous support while lawmakers are away from Washington. That means it could be weeks or even a month before the House can return to Washington to vote to establish the new committee.
“We will have an oversight committee,“ Pelosi said. „[Republicans] will be given the opportunity to appoint members to it … but that will be up to them. But it’s not going to be up to them whether we have it or not. Absolutely, positively not.“
Lawmakers are also contemplating a fifth layer of oversight: a long-term commission meant to provide a comprehensive review of the U.S. government’s response to the outbreak and the failures that accelerated its impact.
Several competing proposals have been filed, all modeled on the 9/11 Commission that reviewed the run-up to the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attack. On Friday, Rep. Adam Schiff, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, formally introduced his proposal, bringing on both California senators, Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris, as cosponsors.
In addition, the measure is sponsored by at least two Democrats who hail from closely fought congressional districts: Reps. Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.) and Gil Cisneros (D-Calif.), as well as a handful of other House members and senators.
Though Republicans have already assailed Schiff’s proposal, linking it to his leadership in the impeachment of the president, Schiff’s proposal closely mirrors the other bipartisan plans and is based on input from at least one architect of the former 9/11 commission.
Source: politico.com
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