Utah Valley Times

U.S. Senators Mitt Romney (R-UT), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Mark Warner (D-VA), and Joni Ernst (R-IA) have introduced the COVID Spending Transparency Act of 2024. This bipartisan legislation aims to extend the term of the Treasury Department’s Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery (SIGPR) by five years. The SIGPR, established under the CARES Act of 2020, was initially set to expire at the end of March 2025.

Senator Romney emphasized the ongoing need for oversight: "The CARES Act was critically important for the country at a critical time, but it’s become clear that the oversight of funds tied to the CARES Act and other COVID relief legislation is still needed." He added that allowing SIGPR to expire would be unwise given the remaining work to recover federal funds.

Senator Hassan highlighted that while CARES Act funds were crucial during the pandemic, there were instances of misuse: "We need to keep working to recover fraudulently obtained or used CARES Act federal funding," she said. Senator Warner echoed these sentiments, stressing that ensuring proper use of COVID relief funds remains essential: "This legislation would ensure that those receiving COVID relief funds are using them appropriately."

Senator Ernst pointed out significant issues with fraud detection in pandemic relief programs: "With hundreds of billions of dollars of waste and fraud, it is evident that the screening process for pandemic swindlers had more holes than Swiss cheese."

Background information reveals that Senators Romney and Hassan previously led a subcommittee hearing in November 2023 focused on federal COVID-era spending. During this hearing, Romney advocated for extending SIGPR beyond its initial expiration date.

SIGPR has played a key role in overseeing pandemic-related spending, recovering over $60 million in taxpayer funds so far. Its investigations have led to multiple indictments, arrests, guilty pleas, and financial recoveries including seizure orders and restitution payments.

The text of the bill can be accessed online.