CARES Act Flash Report 

August 2020: Where’s the Money?

DOI CARES Act Funds as of August 31, 2020 

On March 27, 2020, the President signed into law the Coronavirus Aid, 

Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). To date, the CARES Act 

has provided the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) with $909.7 million, 

which includes direct apportionments of $756 million to support the needs 

of DOI programs, bureaus, Indian Country, and the Insular Areas, and a 

$153.7 million transfer from the U.S. Department of Education to the BIE. 

This report includes the DOI’s progress as of August 31, 2020 (see 

Figure 1), a new highlighted recipient, and updated information on the 

DOI’s accomplishment of CARES Act milestones (see page 3).

Figure 1: Funding Status as of August 31, 2020 

The DOI received 

$909.7 million 

under the CARES Act to 

respond to impacts from 

COVID -19: 

• $453 million for the Bureau

of Indian Affairs (BIA)

• $157.4 million for DOI

operations (Office of the

Secretary (OS))*

• $69 million for the Bureau of

Indian Education (BIE)

• $153.7 million for the BIE

transferred from the U.S.

Department of Education

• $55 million for the Office of

Insular Affairs (OIA)

• $12 million for the Bureau of

Reclamation (BOR) –water

resources

• $8.1 million for the BOR –

policy and administration

• $1 million for the Office of

Inspector General (OIG)

• $500,000 for the BOR –Central

Utah Project Completion Act

(CUPCA)

*The OS transferred funds to the U.S.

Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), National

Park Service (NPS), Bureau of Land

Management (BLM), and Office of

Wildland Fire (OWF). Figure 1 includes a

breakdown of the transferred funds.

Business 

Area 

Appropriation/ 

Transfer ($) 

Expenditures 

To Date ($) 

Obligations 

To Date ($) 

BIA 453,000,000 365,740,096 

(80.7%) 

408,279,478 

(90.1%) 

OS* 144,600,000 844,354 

(0.6%) 

2,165,940 

(1.5%) 

FWS 3,585,000 725,977 

(20.3%) 

1,127,929 

(31.5%) 

NPS 5,197,000 1,102,863 

(21.2%) 

1,491,760 

(28.7%) 

BLM 3,753,000 968,230 

(25.8%) 

1,457,575 

(38.8%) 

OWF 265,000 0 

(0%) 

122,340 

(46.2%) 

BIE 69,000,000 54,394,088 

(78.8%) 

57,917,311 

(83.9%) 

BIE 

(Education) 

153,750,000 95,017,142 

(61.8%) 

102,553,995 

(66.7%) 

OIA 55,000,000 1,356,397 

(2.5%) 

42,627,375 

(77.5%) 

BOR (Water) 12,000,000 4,282,614 

(35.7%) 

4,398,068 

(36.7%) 

BOR (Policy) 8,100,000 1,692,639 

(20.9%) 

1,692,639 

(20.9%) 

OIG 1,000,000 537,966 

(53.8%) 

537,966 

(53.8%) 

BOR 

(CUPCA) 

500,000 0 

(0%) 

27,507 

(5.5%) 

Totals $909,750,000 $526,662,366 

(57.9%) 

$624,399,884 

(68.6%) 

OFFICE OF 

INSPECTOR GENERAL 

U.S.DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

CARES Act Flash Report • No. 2020-FIN-068 • Issued September 28, 2020 1 
 

 

 

 

 

 

Details on Award Types 

DOI programs and bureaus have made funds available via contracts and 

grants/financial assistance awards (see Figure 2). 

Figure 2: Award Types Used as of August 31, 2020 

Total Percentage of 

Award Type Value ($) Total Value 

Grant/financial assistance 

award 596,777,463 95.6 

Contracts and supplies 15,466,522 2.5 

Other (e.g., equipment, 

personnel) 12,155,898 1.9 

Top 5 Recipients 

• Navajo Nation Tribal

Government ($12,577,400)

• Government of Guam

($12,039,565)

• Mississippi Band of Choctaw

Indians ($9,521,410)

• Cherokee Nation

($9,131,601)

• Government of the U.S.

Virgin Islands ($7,863,776)

Example CARES Act Program 

The VI Department of Education 

(VIDOE) recently announced 

that public schools will be virtual 

through December. Parents can 

request laptops and MiFi* 

internet devices for their 

children from the VIDOE. CARES 

Act funding has enabled the 

VIDOE to order 12,000 

Chromebooks, which it plans to 

distribute so that all students 

will have equal access to 

technology. Parents will also be 

able to borrow desks and chairs 

intended to give every child 

proper workspace at home. 

September 8 was the start date 

for VI public schools. 

* MiFi is a brand of wireless router that

acts as a mobile WiFi hotspot. It can be

connected to a cellular network to

provide internet access.

Totals $624,399,884 100% 

COVID-19 vs. CARES Act Expenditures 

As of August 31, 2020, CARES Act charge card expenditures totaled $3.8 

million, and COVID-19-related purchases (not charged to CARES Act 

funds) totaled $10.4 million (see Figure 3). The DOI may make future 

adjustments to some of these COVID-19 expenditures to reflect the use of 

CARES Act funds as more transactions are reviewed for proper 

classification. 

Figure 3: Charge Card Purchase Amounts as of August 31, 2020 

Bureau CARES Act ($) COVID-19 ($) Total ($) 

BIA 1,381,547 3,165,165 4,546,712 

BLM 606,903 1,230,654 1,837,557 

BOR 754,895 8,016 762,911 

FWS 183,248 1,138,253 1,321,500 

NPS 836,477 4,256,767 5,093,244 

Other* 0 636,817 636,817 

Totals $3,763,070 $10,435,671 $14,198,741 

*This includes departmental offices, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management,

the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, the Office of Surface

Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, and the U.S. Geological Survey.

Highlighted Recipient – U.S. Virgin Islands 

The U.S. Virgin Islands (VI) is an island territory of the United States in the 

Caribbean that is home to more than 105,000 people. The territory comprises 

three large islands—St. Croix, St. John, and St. Thomas—and many islets 

and cays. Two-thirds of the island of St. John is national park, making it a 

unique destination for visitors from around the world. The three large islands 

have confirmed COVID-19 cases, and the VI Government has created a 

website dedicated to COVID-19 awareness with key information from the 

VI Department of Health. As of August 31, 2020, the VI has performed 

16,397 tests, of which 1,139 were positive. After a 78 percent increase in 

positive cases in 1 week on St. Thomas, Governor Albert Bryan announced a 

“stay-at-home” restriction for VI residents for 1 month starting August 17 

and closed the islands to visitors. 

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Significant Milestones 

The CARES Act requires agencies 

to submit reports by certain 

deadlines, and the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) 

provided further clarification on 

the reporting requirements in its 

Memorandum M 20 21, 

Implementation Guidance for 

Supplemental Funding Provided 

in Response to the Coronavirus 

Disease 2019 (COVID 19), 

issued April 10, 2020. We are 

monitoring these DOI 

milestones. 

Completed Milestones 

Due and completed on June 9: 

The DOI assessed and adjusted 

existing reporting and audit 

deadlines and considered how to 

balance existing statutory and 

regulatory compliance 

requirements with the new 

workload associated with the 

COVID 19 crisis. 

Due June 25, completed July 16: 

Not later than 90 days after 

enactment of the CARES Act, the 

DOI was to submit to the 

Pandemic Response 

Accountability Committee 

(PRAC) a plan describing how 

the covered funds will be spent. 

Ongoing Milestones 

April 10† Effective the date of OMB Memorandum M-20-21, the DOI must 

identify, track, and anticipate reporting charge card spending related to 

COVID-19. These charge card transactions must use “COVID” as an

identifier. As of August 31, we have identified $10,435,671 in 

charge card transactions with the COVID identifier. 

April 26 By this date, the Secretary of the Treasury must consult with the 

Secretary of the Interior and Indian tribes about payments totaling $8 

billion to tribes. Several tribes, including three in Alaska, argued that 

the allotment is not meant for for-profit corporations and should 

exclusively support tribal governments. On April 2 and April 9, 

Treasury and the DOI consulted with more than 3,000 representatives 

from Indian County and Alaska Native villages. On May 5, the 

Secretary of the Treasury and Secretary of the Interior issued a 

statement on the path forward for funds to tribes, making $4.8 billion 

available to tribal governments in all States. A U.S. District Court 

ruled that Alaska Native corporations (ANCs) are eligible to receive 

CARES Act funds. A July 7 injunction prevents the ANCs from 

receiving the funds while tribal nations appeal the ruling. 

June 30 Starting with the June 2020 reporting period through September 30, 

2021, the Deputy Secretary or the Chief Operating Officer must 

review quarterly the progress made on program performance under the 

CARES Act. The Deputy Secretary will conduct these reviews on 

performance goals and is informed in near real time on various 

performance developments. On August 11, the Acting Assistant 

Secretary for Policy, Management and Budget issued a memo to 

heads of bureaus and offices regarding CARES Act Quarterly 

Output/Outcome Reporting Guidance. Assistant Secretaries were 

to submit bureau reports by August 24. As of August 28, reports 

were still being provided. 

Reporting Milestones Accomplished by Submitting Data to 

USASpending.gov and Pandemic.oversight.gov 

June 30 The DOI must report monthly to the OMB, the U.S. Department of the 

Treasury, the PRAC, and appropriate congressional committees on 

any obligation or expenditure of large covered funds, starting with the 

June 2020 reporting period through September 30, 2021. Large 

covered funds are any funds made available in any form (e.g., via 

grant, cooperative agreement, contract, loan, loan guarantee, award or 

other mechanism) that exceed $150,000. The DOI continues to meet 

this monthly requirement. 

July 10 Not later than 10 days after the end of each calendar quarter, each 

recipient of large covered funds shall submit a report on use of the 

funds to the DOI and the PRAC. The DOI has met this requirement 

for the first quarter. 

July 21 The DOI must submit Digital Accountability and Transparency Act 

(DATA Act) files A, B, and C monthly instead of quarterly, starting 

with the June reporting period. These submissions must be certified by 

the DATA Act Senior Accountable Official or Financial 

Representative Designee for COVID-19-related funding. The DOI 

certifying official is the Financial Business Management System 

Business Integration Office Director for the monthly DATA Act file 

submissions. The DOI continues to meet this monthly requirement. 

July 30 Not later than 30 days after the end of each calendar quarter, the 

PRAC in consultation with the DOI must make the reports by covered †All dates recipients publicly available. The DOI has met the requirement for 

2020 the first quarter. 

CARES Act Flash Report • No. 2020-FIN-068 • Issued September 28, 2020 3