{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-collins-urge-omb-to-release-appropriated-inspector-general-funds", "Grassley, Collins Urge OMB to Release Appropriated Inspector General Funds", "2025-09-30", "2025", "2025-09", "Republican", "Senate", "IA", "Chuck Grassley", "G000386", "www.grassley.senate.gov", "grassley", "https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Susan Collins (R-Maine), Chairs of the Senate Judiciary and Appropriations Committees, respectively, sent a letter to Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russ Vought calling on OMB to reverse its decision to withhold apportionments for the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE) and the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC).\n\n\u201cAbsent immediate action, CIGIE and PRAC will need to furlough staff and terminate important functions that help prevent and detect waste, fraud, and abuse throughout the government,\u201d the senators wrote. \u201cCongress has already appropriated FY 2026 funds for CIGIE and PRAC, and both entities enjoy strong bipartisan support. Thus, any adverse consequences will be solely due to OMB\u2019s decision not to apportion available funds, rather than any lapse in appropriations.\u201d\n\n\u201cOf course, we recognize the need to ensure that all government entities are good stewards of taxpayer dollars and operate efficiently and effectively,\u201d the senators continued. \u201cWe understand from your staff that OMB\u2019s apportionment decision may be part of a review of CIGIE and PRAC activities. However, we see no reason why such a review could not occur while those entities remain operational so that they can continue the numerous functions that are mandated by law.\u201d\n\nGrassley and Collins were leading proponents of the Inspector General Reform Act of 2008, which established CIGIE to address integrity, economy and effectiveness issues that transcend government agencies. CIGIE increases the professionalism and effectiveness of federal Inspectors General (IGs) by helping to establish well-trained and highly skilled IG office workforces.\n\nGrassley is a founding member of the bipartisan Senate IG Caucus. Last year, he wrote CIGIE to conduct oversight of its spending data and secure a better understanding of CIGIE\u2019s use of taxpayer funds.\n\nIn the 2020 CARES Act, Congress established PRAC as part of CIGIE to conduct and support government-wide oversight efforts associated with the emergency response to the Coronavirus pandemic. Congress this year extended PRAC\u2019s authorization and expanded its jurisdiction as part of the 2025 tax law.\n\nRead the full letter HERE and below.\n\nSeptember 29, 2025\n\nThe Honorable Russell T. Vought\n\nDirector\n\nThe Office of Management and Budget\n\n725 17th Street, N.W.\n\nWashington, D.C. 20503\n\nDear Director Vought:\n\nAs leading proponents of the Inspector General Reform Act of 2008, which established the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE), we write regarding the recent \u201cpolicy decision\u201d of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to withhold an apportionment for CIGIE\u2019s FY 2026 operations. We were also notified by the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC), which operates within CIGIE, that OMB has not apportioned funds for its FY 2026 operations. We urgently request an explanation for these actions and ask that you to promptly reverse course so that CIGIE and PRAC can continue their important oversight work uninterrupted.\n\nAbsent immediate action, CIGIE and PRAC will need to furlough staff and terminate important functions that help prevent and detect waste, fraud, and abuse throughout the government. Congress has already appropriated FY 2026 funds for CIGIE and PRAC, and both entities enjoy strong bipartisan support. Thus, any adverse consequences will be solely due to OMB\u2019s decision not to apportion available funds, rather than any lapse in appropriations.\n\nAs you know, CIGIE was created to \u201caddress integrity, economy, and effectiveness issues that transcend individual Government agencies\u201d and \u201cincrease the professionalism and effectiveness of personnel by developing policies, standards, and approaches to aid in the establishment of a well-trained and highly skilled workforce in the offices of the Inspectors General.\u201d 5 U.S.C. \u00a7 424(a). Effectively defunding CIGIE\u2014contrary to congressional intent\u2014will disrupt numerous important oversight functions, including the Oversight.gov website, whistleblower reporting portals, and activities designed to ensure the inspectors general community is held accountable.\n\nCongress established PRAC as part of the CARES Act to conduct and support government-wide oversight efforts associated with the emergency response to the Coronavirus pandemic, including through the use of a sophisticated analytics platform. Just this year, as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Congress extended PRAC\u2019s authorization, expanded its jurisdiction, and appropriated $88 million in additional funding to support its efforts. Shuttering PRAC would be disruptive to ongoing oversight and inhibit future efforts.\n\nOf course, we recognize the need to ensure that all government entities are good stewards of taxpayer dollars and operate efficiently and effectively. We understand from your staff that OMB\u2019s apportionment decision may be part of a review of CIGIE and PRAC activities. However, we see no reason why such a review could not occur while those entities remain operational so that they can continue the numerous functions that are mandated by law. Moreover, to the extent OMB believes that CIGIE or PRAC should be reformed to better achieve their missions, we stand ready to work collaboratively with you to consider potential reforms. Our ongoing oversight of CIGIE can provide useful ways to ensure that it operates optimally for the American people\u2014fixes that can be implemented while the entity is funded.\n\nAs Congress conducts oversight and considers a potential legislative response, please respond to the following questions by no later than Friday, October 3, 2025:\n\nWhy has OMB failed to apportion funds for CIGIE and PRAC FY 2026 operations, and who made this decision?\n\nWhat legal authority is OMB relying upon to withhold apportionments for CIGIE and PRAC?\n\nWhen does OMB intend to apportion funds to CIGIE and PRAC?\n\nTo the extent OMB is reviewing CIGIE and PRAC activities prior to apportioning funds, why can\u2019t that review occur without disrupting operations and furloughing employees?\n\nDescribe in detail any ongoing OMB review of CIGIE or PRAC. Please include detailed timelines, a description of any review\u2019s scope and intended effect, and any potential cost savings to the taxpayer.\n\nWe look forward to your timely response to these questions, and we again urge you to promptly apportion funds to CIGIE and PRAC, consistent with congressional intent.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:10:29Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-collins-urge-omb-to-release-appropriated-inspector-general-funds"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9672241285443306, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}