CORE Act

Bill: 116-s-3855
Sponsor: Sen. Warren, Elizabeth [D-MA]
Introduced: 2020-06-01 in the Senate
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Advisory bodies
Afghanistan
Alternative dispute resolution, mediation, arbitration
Architect of the Capitol
Asia
Banking and financial institutions regulation
Business expenses
Cardiovascular and respiratory health
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
Civil actions and liability
Congressional agencies
Congressional operations and organization
Congressional oversight
Criminal investigation, prosecution, interrogation
Department of Labor
Emergency medical services and trauma care
Employment discrimination and employee rights
Evidence and witnesses
Executive Office of the President
Family relationships
Federal officials
Financial crises and stabilization
Fraud offenses and financial crimes
Government Accountability Office (GAO)
Government Publishing Office (GPO)
Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
Government ethics and transparency, public corruption
Government information and archives
Government lending and loan guarantees
Government studies and investigations
Health programs administration and funding
Infectious and parasitic diseases
Intelligence activities, surveillance, classified information
Judicial review and appeals
Law enforcement officers
Library of Congress
Licensing and registrations
Office of Government Ethics
Personnel records
Presidents and presidential powers, Vice Presidents
Public contracts and procurement
Public participation and lobbying
Reconstruction and stabilization
Right of privacy
Small business
Tax administration and collection, taxpayers
U.S. Capitol
Wages and earnings
Worker safety and health

Summary:
action_date: 2020-06-01
text: 

Coronavirus Oversight and Recovery Ethics Act of 2020 or the CORE Act

 
This bill establishes requirements for oversight, accountability, and transparency in the disbursement and supervision of COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) relief funds.
 
Among other things, the bill 
 
 
prohibits conflicts of interest in the selection or hiring of contractors or advisors and in the distribution of relief grants and loans;
 
allows inspectors general to be fired only for specified reasons;
 
grants the Congressional Oversight Commission, established in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), subpoena authority for testimony and documents and expands its jurisdiction to include all COVID-19 relief funding, including the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) of the Small Business Administration (SBA);
 
requires the Department of the Treasury to submit a weekly list of any instances in which the Special Inspector General for Pandemic Relief or the Pandemic Relief Accountability Committee believe the executive branch has unreasonably denied them information;
 
requires lobbyists to make monthly disclosures regarding all lobbying related to COVID-19 relief spending or lending;
 
establishes whistle-blower protections for government contractors and private sector workers who may witness waste, fraud, or abuse or be victims of misconduct;
 
requires the SBA to publicly disclose information about PPP lenders and recipients, including loan amounts; and
 
allows any individual harmed by a company's misuse of industry stabilization funds to seek recourse through the courts.
 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2020-06-01
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
action_date: 2020-06-01
text: Introduced in Senate