The CARES Act, section 15010(g) (1) (A) requires that: “Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the [Pandemic Response Accountability] Committee shall establish and maintain a user-friendly, public-facing website to foster greater accountability and transparency in the use of covered funds and the Coronavirus response, which shall have a uniform resource locator that is descriptive and memorable.”
Subsection (3) provides that the Committee shall ensure that the website provides “materials and information explaining the Coronavirus response and how covered funds are being used. The materials shall be easy to understand and regularly updated”.
There follows thirteen explicit requirements, including … any progress reports, audits, inspections, or other reports … user-friendly visual presentations to enhance public awareness of the use of covered funds and the Coronavirus response … detailed data on any Federal Government awards over $150,000 … by month to each State and congressional district, where applicable … a means for the public to give feedback on the performance of any covered funds and of the Coronavirus response, including confidential feedback … a link to estimates of the jobs sustained or created by this Act to the extent practicable … a plan from each Federal agency for using covered funds.
Stay tuned – April 26th is the due date for this new descriptive, memorable, and critically important website. Congress and, more importantly, the public, need to keep a watchful eye over how the hundreds of billions of dollars are being allocated and spent. Bookmark your calendar … and stay safe.
Update April 27, 2020 – the website went online at https://pandemic.oversight.gov