Oversight
Senate Democrats Demand Answers from OPM on COVID-19 Response
Democrats on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee said that for the last six weeks, the federal government’s HR agency has stonewalled requests for briefings related to its work responding to the coronavirus pandemic.
Oversight
GovExec Daily: How Officials Can Fight Disinformation About COVID-19
Emma Coleman joins the podcast to discuss the ways governments can refute conspiracy theories that come up during crises like the pandemic.
Oversight
Did He Talk About Her? VA Secretary Changes His Story Amid Allegations He Sought Dirt on House Staffer.
Robert Wilkie is under investigation after a complaint that he sought information to discredit a House staffer who said she was sexually assaulted in a VA hospital. Wilkie denied discussing her with Rep. Dan Crenshaw. But an email indicates he did.
Oversight
IG Veteran Named Executive Director of Pandemic Oversight Committee
The $2.2 trillion CARES Act established the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee.
Oversight
House Approves Creation of a Select Panel to Oversee Pandemic-Related Spending and Response
Critics have said the committee will be duplicative, but one transparency expert said that "overlapping oversight jurisdictions can be a good thing if managed correctly."
Oversight
How Jared Kushner Is Tackling the White House’s Coronavirus Response — Without Any Evident Experience
The president’s son-in-law and adviser has added the emergency-response supply chain to his extensive list of duties. He views himself as a disrupter — but that’s not always a good thing.
Oversight
GovExec Daily: Removing Barriers to Innovation in COVID-19 Legislation
Stan Soloway joined the podcast to explain how the pandemic is an opportunity for legislation modernizing some aspects of government.
Oversight
GovExec Daily: Despite a Pandemic, Border Wall Construction Continues
Courtney Bublé joins the podcast to explain how President Trump's major project is doing during COVID-19 crisis.
Oversight
GovExec Daily: When Should the Quarantine End?
A former senior economist at the White House’s Council of Economic Advisers and author of a cost-benefit analysis on mitigation rules explains to the podcast why these rules are in place and how long they may have to continue.
Oversight
Analysis: What Federalism Means for the Coronavirus Response
Throughout the coronavirus crisis, President Trump has made inconsistent statements about who is responsible for key aspects of the nation’s response to the pandemic. The Constitution has the answer.
Oversight
Congress Is Investigating Whether a Ventilator Company Is Gouging the U.S. — and Why the Government Is Letting It Happen
A congressional subcommittee is questioning a federal decision to pay quadruple the price for the commercial version of a ventilator Royal Philips N.V. had developed with taxpayer funds.
Oversight
GovExec Daily: Coronavirus Fears and Meat Inspection
Katherine McIntire Peters and Eric Katz join the podcast to discuss how Food Safety Inspection Service employees voiced their concerns about the coronavirus at meat processing plants.
Oversight
GovExec Daily: How to Communicate During a Pandemic
The Partnership for Public Service’s Samantha Donaldson joins the podcast to explain the clarity agencies need to have while communicating during the coronavirus crisis.
Oversight
GovExec Daily: Overseeing Agencies' Pandemic Response
Katherine McIntire Peters and Courtney Bublé join the podcast to discuss how IGs, agencies and Congress can account for the money in the CARES Act will be
Oversight
Government Watchdog: Millions Wasted on Tornillo Migrant Detention Facility
The Government Accountability Office found that the government spent $66 million in taxpayer money over five months to hold an average of 28 people per day at the tent encampment near El Paso.
Oversight
Proposed Legislation Seeks to Protect Inspectors General From Political Firings
Bill would establish seven-year terms and only allow “for cause” removals.
Oversight
Trump Removed the Head of the Coronavirus Bailout Oversight Board. Its Members Could Be Next.
Democrats are scrambling to stop the president from replacing independent government watchdogs after he quickly pushed aside the leader of coronavirus bailout oversight.
Oversight
Trump Removes Acting Pentagon IG Slated to Lead Pandemic Oversight
Only current IGs may serve in the new position created by Congress to oversee the government's coronavirus relief effort.
Oversight
How OSHA Has Failed to Protect America’s Workers From COVID-19
Efforts to create a federal rule to protect workers from infectious diseases were put on ice in President Donald Trump’s first year in office.
Oversight