Washington, DC — Today, Michael E. Horowitz, Chair of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC), announced the release of the PRAC’s Semiannual Report to Congress, which covers the period April 1 through September 30, 2024.
“With nine months remaining until our sunset, we encourage Congress to retain the valuable fraud-fighting tools of our data analytics center and expand its jurisdiction beyond pandemic relief funds. Without this vital resource, the federal government will no longer have an entity capable of proactively conducting cross-program, cross-agency analysis to help prevent improper payments in high-risk programs,” said Chair Horowitz. “The time is now for the federal government to prepare to better safeguard future emergency spending to protect taxpayer dollars.”
The semiannual report summarizes the PRAC’s work during the second half of fiscal year 2024 and updates Congress on our efforts to promote transparency and ensure coordinated oversight of more than $5 trillion in pandemic relief. It also highlights the extraordinary success of the PRAC’s Pandemic Analytics Center of Excellence (PACE) in identifying improper payments and fraud in pandemic relief programs, and which, if sustained, could allow agencies and Offices of Inspectors General (OIGs) to use those insights to assess applications for potential fraud before funds are disbursed.
Key PRAC accomplishments from this reporting period include:
The issuance of follow-up reports examining three of six diverse communities’ experiences with pandemic relief funding and programs produced in coordination with 10 OIGs.
The launch of the Blueprint for Enhanced Program Integrity, a comprehensive research project organized into five chapters that provides stakeholders with a roadmap to better protect government programs from improper payments and fraud.
The success of the PACE in assisting the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation OIG in recovering $135 million—more than three times the $40 million in funding that Congress provided to operate the PACE from 2021 to 2025.
Additional highlights from the reporting period include:
The collaborative efforts of the PACE that, as of September 2024, provided investigative support to more than 49 federal law enforcement and OIG partners on 951 pandemic-related investigations, with nearly 23,000 subjects and a potential fraud loss of $2.2 billion.
The 69 pandemic oversight reports issued by 16 OIGs that identified over $3 billion in monetary findings and make 93 recommendations to improve the government's response to the pandemic and future emergencies.
The PRAC Fraud Task Force’s investigations, which resulted in criminal charges against 107 subjects and recovery of over $16 million in restitution, seizures, forfeitures, civil settlements, and voluntary repayments.
###
The PRAC was established by the CARES Act to promote transparency and support independent oversight of the funds provided by the CARES Act and other related emergency spending bills. In addition to its coordination and oversight responsibilities, the PRAC is tasked with supporting efforts to “prevent and detect fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement [and] mitigate major risks that cut across program and agency boundaries.”
If you have additional questions, please contact Lisa Reijula at lisa.reijula@cigie.gov