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Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) joined Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) in writing a letter to President Trump on Friday, The Hill reports.
Romey called on Trump to comply with the oversight requirements Congress attached to the $2.2 trillion coronavirus relief package.
Romney and Tester wrote to Trump, “With trillions of taxpayer dollars being spent, it is critically important for the Administration to ensure full transparency and willingness for independent oversight.”
“As you work to implement COVID-19 legislation, we ask that you provide Congress a detailed plan on how the government plans to execute these funds and what accountability measures are being put in place to ensure our taxpayer dollars are being spent efficiently and effectively,” they wrote.
“We expect that the Special Inspector General will fulfill its statutory responsibilities, and look forward to working with your administration to ensure robust oversight of taxpayer dollars,” they added.
More from The Hill:
The senators noted that the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act established three level of oversight for the hundreds of billions of dollars in federal aid: a special inspector general, a congressional oversight committee and a panel of inspectors general known as the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC).
Romney and Tester called on the president to report his administration’s plans for spending the funds to Congress…
Trump sparked controversy last week when he signaled in a signing statement attached to the $2.2 trillion law that his White House would supervise reports to Congress from the special inspector general for coronavirus relief, known as the SIGPR.
Citing Article II of the Constitution, Trump wrote: “I do not understand, and my Administration will not treat, this provision as permitting the SIGPR to issue reports to the Congress without the presidential supervision required by the Take Care Clause.”
Romney and Tester on Friday warned the president not to interfere in the inspector general’s quarterly reports to Congress.
The senators also raised concerns over the lack of permanent inspectors general at several departments and agencies tasked with implementing the coronavirus relief law, including the Departments of Health and Human Services, Treasury and Education.
