The watchdog office Congress created to oversee trillions of dollars of economic stimulus spending in the wake of the novel coronavirus pandemic would have new authority to quickly staff up and hire under a bipartisan bill unveiled in the Senate this week.
The Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery Expedited Hiring Authority Act (S. 3751) would allow that investigator’s office to bypass normal hiring restrictions that often make federal onboarding a lengthy process. The measure, introduced by Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and cosponsored by Sens. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho; Maggie Hassan, D-N.H.; Joni Ernst, R-Iowa; and Cory Booker, D-N.J., would allow the office to function as a temporary one, even though it technically does not meet those requirements. It would give the IG six months to avoid the normal competitive hiring process.
It would also allow federal employees throughout government to volunteer to serve in the office and for the IG to request detailees from other agencies. Federal retirees could return to public service to work for the IG without taking any hit to their retirement annuity, as is normally the case for former employees returning to work. The IG would also be able to accept volunteers to serve in the office.
“Trillions in taxpayer dollars are headed out the door to help our nation respond to and recover from this pandemic, so we have a duty to make sure it gets to those in need and is used as intended,” Grassley said. “This bill helps the special inspector general quickly build its team so it can hit the ground running. We can’t let bureaucratic delays drag out with some much [in] h ..
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