Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, was joined by a bipartisan group of senators to introduce legislation that would expedite staffing for the special pandemic recovery watchdog that oversees trillions in taxpayer funded pandemic relief.
“Trillions in taxpayer dollars are headed out the door to help our nation respond to and recover from this pandemic, so we have a duty to make sure it gets to those in need and is used as intended. This bill helps the special inspector general quickly build its team so it can hit the ground running. We can’t let bureaucratic delays drag out with some much hard-earned taxpayer dollars on the line,” Sen. Grassley said.
The Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery Expedited Hiring Authorities Act of 2020 would hasten the office’s hiring and contracting authority, while allowing it to use “volunteers and detailees from other government agencies.” The legislation is cosponsored by Sens. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., and Cory Booker, D-N.J.
“Congress’ job is not only to provide the necessary resources to respond to and recover from the COVID pandemic, but also to make sure Federal funding is being spent properly and effectively,” Sen. Booker said. “We must continue to be good stewards of Federal resources and this new office will help to do just that.”
