WASHINGTON, DC – Representative Kevin Hern (OK-01) released the following statement after voting against the formation of a Select Committee on the Coronavirus Crisis.

“Redundancy in government is a waste of time and resources,” said Rep. Hern. “There are currently eight House committees with oversight authority on the federal government’s response to coronavirus, creating an entirely new entity to accomplish the same goal is impractical and purely political. There are already too many cooks in the kitchen, throwing another oversight body into the mix creates more confusion at a time when leadership and efficiency are paramount.”

Rep. Hern continued, “Democrats have not been shy about what they plan to do with this new committee: impeach President Trump again. While President Trump was creating a task force to combat coronavirus and putting travel bans in place to stop the spread, House & Senate Democrats were embroiled in the most recent of many attempts to remove him from office. If my colleagues could draw their focus away from their hatred of the President for a couple minutes, they’d realize the crisis at hand needs our full attention. We have more than enough existing resources to ensure the funds we’ve allocated over the last month are being properly spent. We need Speaker Pelosi to allow the existing committees to do their job instead of enforcing a near-shutdown of Congressional responsibilities and holding bogus pro forma sessions. Congress has managed to do our job through the Civil War, both World Wars, the 1918 Flu Pandemic, and every crisis since. We must be allowed to carry out our Constitutional responsibilities.”

Background Information

Existing committees with jurisdiction over the coronavirus response are:

House Oversight & Reform Committee – Under House Rules, the House Oversight and Reform Committee has jurisdictional authority to investigate “any matter” at “any time.”

Other House Committees – The legislative committees of jurisdiction who drafted the CARES Act and Families First Coronavirus Response Act know how the programs are supposed to work.

• Appropriations Committee (Families First)
• Budget Committee (Families First)
• Ways and Means Committee (Families First, CARES)

Congressional Oversight Commission – The CARES Act created the Congressional Oversight Commission, a five-member bipartisan commission tasked with conducting oversight over the Department of the Treasury and the Board of Governors for the Federal Reserve System’s application of the CARES Act.

Pandemic Response Accountability Committee – The CARES Act created the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee within the Council on the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE).

Inspectors General – The inspectors general from the relevant agencies also have the ability to conduct audits and investigations related to the pandemic response.

Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery – The CARES Act also established a Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery, or SIGPR.

Government Accountability Office (GAO) – Under the CARES Act, GAO received an additional $20 million in funding, which it plans to spend on hiring auditors and experts to aid in the Office’s work related to the federal government’s coronavirus response.

Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission – The Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission are looking into fraudulent activity during this pandemic.