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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 from October 1, 2023, through March 31, 2024. “After four years since the onset of the pandemic and the PRAC’s creation, our mission to promote transparency and coordinate oversight of the federal government’s COVID-19 response remains more critical than ever. With 15 months remaining until our sunset, we submit this Semiannual Report to Congress at a crucial time in our lifespan, and we bring...

Mark Lee Greenblatt, Chair of the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE) and Inspector General of the U.S. Department of the Interior, has appointed Ken Dieffenbach to serve as the Executive Director of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC). A highly regarded leader in the federal oversight community, Mr. Dieffenbach most recently served as Deputy Assistant Inspector General for Investigations at the Department of Energy Office of Inspector General (OIG). Previously, Mr. Dieffenbach served at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of...

Today, Michael E. Horowitz, Chair of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC), announced that Virginia “Jenny” Rone, who has served since April 2023 as Executive Director of the PRAC, has been selected to be the Deputy Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). At the PRAC, Ms. Rone played a critical role in developing an innovative data analytics vision and pilot for shared services across the oversight community, setting the strategic direction for the PRAC’s upcoming “Blueprint for Enhanced Program Integrity” report, and establishing a staff learning and...

Washington, DC — Michael E. Horowitz, Chair of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC), announced the release of a report that expands on the PRAC’s review of pandemic relief funding in six communities across the United States: Springfield, Massachusetts; Coeur d’Alene, Idaho; Sheridan County, Nebraska; Marion County, Georgia; White Earth Nation Reservation in Minnesota; and Jicarilla Apache Nation Reservation in New Mexico. “This case study-based review is the result of the collaborative oversight efforts of the PRAC and 10 of our member Offices of Inspectors General. In phase...

Over the past three years, the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC) and its data analytics center have demonstrated the ability to prevent fraud and improper payments, and to assist law enforcement in pursuing billions of dollars in fraud. If the PRAC’s data analytics center had been in place in March 2020 at the outset of the pandemic, we would have been able to do critical data analysis upfront before payments were made to help prevent the billions of dollars of pandemic relief funds that were wasted through improper payments and fraud. It is critical that the Inspector General...

The Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC) appreciates the support from Congress for the PRAC’s oversight mission and the inclusion of $2 million in the Fiscal Year 2024 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act to “further develop the data analytics capabilities of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee to enhance transparency, and to prevent, detect, and remediate waste, fraud and abuse in federal spending.” This funding is critically important to preserve and enhance the PRAC’s data analytics function that has demonstrated its ability to prevent fraud...