Today, Michael E. Horowitz, Chair of the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE), announced the appointment of Glenn A. Fine, Principal Deputy Inspector General Performing the Duties of the Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), to serve as the Chair of CIGIE’s Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC).
Mr. Horowitz appointed Mr. Fine pursuant to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”). The CARES Act provides over $2 trillion in emergency federal spending to address the economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, and establishes the PRAC and several other oversight mechanisms to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse in the use of these funds.
As Chair of the PRAC, Mr. Fine will lead the efforts of CIGIE and its Inspectors General to promote transparency and conduct and support oversight of the funds provided to address the pandemic response by the CARES Act and two prior emergency spending bills, the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act and the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. In addition to its 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.”
The CARES Act specifically identifies 9 members of the PRAC – the Inspectors General for the Departments of Defense, Education, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Justice, Labor, and the Treasury; the Inspector General of the Small Business Administration; and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. The Act requires that the PRAC Chair be appointed by the CIGIE Chair from among these 9 Inspectors General and have experience managing oversight of large organizations and expenditures. Separately, the CARES Act provides that the CIGIE Chair may designate additional Inspectors General to serve on the Committee from any agency that receives funds or is otherwise involved in the government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. Consistent with the CARES Act, Mr. Fine and other Inspectors General serving on the Committee will continue to perform their Inspector General duties.
In appointing Mr. Fine to Chair the PRAC, Mr. Horowitz stated, “Mr. Fine is uniquely qualified to lead the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, given his more than 15 years of experience as an Inspector General overseeing large organizations -- 11 years as the Department of Justice Inspector General and the last 4 years performing the duties of the Department of Defense Inspector General. The Inspector General Community recognizes the need for transparency surrounding, and strong and effective independent oversight of, the federal government’s spending in response to this public health crisis. Through our individual offices, as well as through CIGIE and the Committee led by Mr. Fine, the Inspectors General will carry out this critical mission on behalf of American taxpayers, families, businesses, patients, and health care providers.”
In accepting the appointment, Mr. Fine stated, “I look forward to working with my fellow Inspectors General on the Committee to provide effective, independent oversight of the funding provided by the pandemic legislation. I have full confidence that the Inspector General community and the Committee will address this challenging and important assignment effectively. Through our efforts, we will seek to promote transparency and ensure that funds are being used consistently with the law’s mandate to respond to this public health crises.”
Mr. Fine has served as the Principal Deputy Inspector General Performing the Duties of the Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Defense since January 10, 2016. Mr. Fine joined the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General as the Principal Deputy Inspector General on June 1, 2015. Mr. Fine previously served as the Inspector General of the Department of Justice (DOJ) from 2000 to 2011. Read Mr. Fine’s full biography here.