Watchdog groups warn of strain on agencies from virus response

WASHINGTON — A new oversight board is warning about the strain of the coronavirus pandemic on the U.S. government and calling into question Washington’s ability to effectively manage trillions of dollars in aid and keep federal workers safe.

The inaugural report released Wednesday by the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee cites an array of challenges in responding to the outbreak. Thirty-seven agencies summarized the obstacles they face, with financial management and health and safety at the top of most lists.

The report emphasizes a few core concerns, including the financial management of more than $2 trillion in new spending and protecting the health and safety of government workers at prisons, national parks, meatpacking plants and other worksites deemed essential during the pandemic.

The need to quickly spend money authorized by the economic rescue law and to manage new programs “presents a significant challenge to many executive branch agencies,” the report said. The sheer size of the largest rescue effort ever approved by Congress increases the risk for fraud and misuse, it said.

The warnings come as Republicans and Democrats in Congress have pushed back on the Treasury Department’s efforts to limit the release of data on what businesses and other entities have received loans from the government.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told Congress last week that the information is “proprietary,” but lawmakers want details released. GOP Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, chairman of the Senate Small Business Committee, has said he is working with the Treasury Department to ensure that at least some of the data is made public.