AP Photo/Evan Vucci
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin speaks during a press briefing with the coronavirus task force, at the White House, Tuesday, March 17, 2020, in Washington, as President Donald Trump looks on.
- Bharat Ramamurti is the sole member so far of a five-person commission charged with policing the $2.2 coronavirus relief package, Bloomberg reported.
- He has no office nor any support staff yet.
- Congressional leaders still haven't appointed other members of the commission.
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Hundreds of billions of dollars are already heading out the federal government's door under the massive coronavirus relief package approved by President Trump last month.
Bharat Ramamurti, a former top adviser to Sen. Elizabeth Warren, is the only person overseeing it all as the sole member so far of the five-person Congressional Oversight Relief Commission charged with policing the federal aid.
Bloomberg first reported Ramamurti's odd predicament. He also has no support staff or office.
The former Warren aide told Bloomberg he is "eager" for more commission members to be appointed so the panel can move ahead with its oversight work.
"In the meantime, I'm trying to perform some oversight and use what tools I have available right now to start asking some basic questions," he told the outlet. "Money is moving around in the blink of an eye and it's not at all clear what it all means and who it's helping."
Social media has turned into a lifeline for Ramamurti, and he took to Twitter to ask questions after the Federal Reserve unveiled the "Main Street Lending Facility" last week. The program is aimed at providing loans to large companies employing up to 10,000 workers or generating less than $2.5 billion in revenue.
The initial payout of Treasury funds on April 9 triggered a 30-day countdown clock for the commission to issue its first oversight report.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer appointed Ramamurti to the post on April 6. The new law gives each of the four congressional leaders - Schumer, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy - the ability to each name a member for the panel.
The fifth member is appointed by both Pelosi and Schumer.
As it stands, Congress divided oversight of the massive coronavirus relief fund between a special inspector general and the five-member oversight panel. But Trump fired the inspector general and appointed White House lawyer Brian Miller for the role.
Miller still requires congressional approval before he can assume the role.
That firing crystallized the importance of the commission's work for Ramamurti: "To me, it's just another reason we should get up and running as quickly as possible," he said.
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The CARES Act gave the Treasury Department at least $454B to use to support the economy. The Treasury and the Fed just announced how they will use $195B of it. The announcement raises several initial questions within the jurisdiction of the Congressional Oversight Commission: 1/
- Bharat Ramamurti (@BharatRamamurti) April 9, 2020