The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), signed into law March 27, 2020, provides over $2 trillion of economic relief to workers, families, small businesses, industry sectors, and other levels of government that have been hit hard by the public health crisis created by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). By implementing the CARES Act, Treasury is taking unprecedented steps to preserve jobs in industries adversely impacted by the spread of COVID-19. Title IV, Subtitle B of the CARES Act provides up to $32 billion of direct financial assistance to passenger and cargo air carriers and respective contractors that must exclusively be used for the continuation of payments of employees’ wages, salaries, and benefits. Title V of the CARES Act established the Coronavirus Relief Fund for the purpose of providing $150 billion in direct assistance to States, units of local government, the District of Columbia, U.S. Territories, and Tribal Governments.
Under Title IV of the CARES Act, Treasury OIG is assigned responsibility to audit certifications made by passenger and cargo air carriers and contractors that do not report to the Department of Transportation. Under Title V of the CARES Act, Treasury OIG is assigned responsibility to conduct monitoring and oversight of the receipt, disbursement, and uses of Coronavirus Relief Fund payments. Treasury OIG also has authority to recover funds in the event that it is determined a recipient of a Coronavirus Relief Fund payment failed to comply with requirements. As part of carrying out this function, we established the Coronavirus Relief Fund (Title V) portal via GrantSolutions into which recipients of Coronavirus Relief Fund direct payments must report quarterly.
Overall, Title IV and Title V involve very large dollar amounts. As such, Treasury faces immense challenges in ensuring that the programs achieve their intended purpose, provide for accountability and transparency, and are free from fraud and abuse. As such, our audit and investigative oversight of Treasury's implementation of Title IV and V are to evaluate management's accountability, control, and oversight of the Department's funds and provide recommendations for improving operations and preventing fraud, waste, and abuse with respect to those funds.
If you have questions on CARES Act Title V, Coronavirus Relief Fund, reporting or record-keeping requirements, please contact CARES@oig.treas.gov or 1(855) 584-4853, Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. EST
Fraud, Waste, or Abuse related to Title
IV and Title V of the CARES Act should be reported to the OIG Hotline (Treasury OIG Online
Hotline Form)
To view all the CARES Act reports issued by the OIG click (CARES Act Reports)