Brian D. Miller, the nominee for special inspector general for pandemic recovery, told the Senate Banking Committee that if he was confirmed, he would inquire about rebate payments that may have been sent to dead people and banks. Miller also said he would inquire about rebate payments that had incorrect amounts because they were based on dated information.
"If the CARES Act gives me that authority to review how the [Treasury] secretary is administering the program, certainly I would look at that," Miller said.
In late March, President Donald Trump signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act
, or CARES Act, which will provide more than $2 trillion to address the economic fallout from the global outbreak of COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus.The law directed the Internal Revenue Service to send payments of up to $1,200 to individuals and $500 for children, subject to income limits.
Miller said if he didn't have express authority to investigate distribution of the stimulus payments by the IRS and the U.S. Department of the Treasury, he would urge the appropriate watchdog to address the issue.
Miller said he believed he would have the statutory authority to oversee Treasury's role in administering the various loan programs created and enhanced in the CARES Act to help businesses meet payroll and other obligations during the coronavirus pandemic, but was unclear on whether his jurisdiction extended to the distribution of the stimulus payments.
"I would like the act to get the money to the people that it's intended to have the money," Miller said.
Committee member Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., said it was imperative to investigate the misrouted payments as soon as possible because many of her constituents needed the stimulus payments to pay for bills and essentials.
"This strikes me as exactly like the kind of waste and mismanagement that an inspector general should be looking into, but when I've asked the IRS about these problems, what they've told us is that my constituents should just wait until next year," Smith said.
House Democrats have also inquired about the reportedly misdirected stimulus payments. Last month, Reps. Mike Thompson, D-Calif., and John Lewis, D-Ga., asked Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin why some relief payments had been delayed or in some cases returned to the government.
The House lawmakers cited reports that payments may have been rerouted to banks instead of taxpayers for those who may have received an advance on their tax refunds through third-party preparation services.
Miller currently serves as an associate White House counsel for Trump, and prior to that, was the Inspector General for the General Services Administration under former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. Miller also worked as a U.S. attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice.
The committee can now vote to send Miller's nomination to the full Senate to be confirmed, but when that decision might occur remained unclear.
Smith's office and Senate Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.
--Additional reporting by Stephen Cooper. Editing by Neil Cohen.
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