FACT Act
Click any stage to learn more about the legislative process.
Would extend the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee — an inspector-general oversight body created during the coronavirus pandemic — through December 31, 2026, and rename it the Fraud Prevention and Accountability Committee, signaling a broader mandate beyond pandemic-era funds.
What this bill would do
What it would do
The bill would amend Section 15010 of the CARES Act to push the committee's scheduled termination date from September 30, 2025, to December 31, 2026, buying roughly 15 more months of operation. It would simultaneously rename the body from the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee to the Fraud Prevention and Accountability Committee. The bill also directs that any existing federal law, executive order, rule, regulation, or official document referring to the old name be read as referring to the new name.
Beyond the core changes, the bill makes a set of technical and conforming amendments to update statutory cross-references within the CARES Act — replacing citations to the now-reorganized Inspector General Act of 1978 with the current codified locations in Title 5 of the U.S. Code. These updates do not alter the committee's actual powers or structure.
Key provisions
- 1Would extend the committee's termination date from September 30, 2025, to December 31, 2026, keeping the oversight body operational.
- 2Would rename the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee to the Fraud Prevention and Accountability Committee throughout the CARES Act.
- 3Would deem all existing federal law, executive orders, rules, regulations, and documents referencing the old name to refer to the new committee name.
- 4Would update statutory cross-references in the CARES Act from the Inspector General Act of 1978 to the current Title 5, U.S. Code codification.
Who would be affected
The committee's staff and participating inspectors general within the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, federal agencies subject to the committee's oversight, and congressional committees that receive the committee's reports. Members of the public and oversight organizations that rely on the committee's transparency work would also be indirectly affected.
Why it matters
Without this extension, the committee would cease to exist on September 30, 2025, ending an active oversight body that monitors pandemic-related spending and fraud. The renaming could signal an intent to apply the committee's tools to a wider range of federal fraud prevention, potentially outlasting its original pandemic-focused mission.
What would change
Changes to existing law
Amends CARES Act, Section 15010 (Public Law 116-136) (Sec. 2)
Extends the committee's termination date to December 31, 2026, renames the committee, and updates obsolete Inspector General Act cross-references to current Title 5 U.S. Code citations.
Agencies directed to act
Effective dates
- Extended termination date for the renamed committee
How implementation would work
The bill is largely self-executing: the CARES Act amendments take effect upon enactment, automatically extending the termination date and substituting the new committee name throughout federal law, rules, and documents. No agency rulemaking is required. The committee would continue operating under its existing structure within the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, and no new reporting or grant machinery is established.
Legislative status & sources
Latest action
Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 44 - 0.
Official CRS summary
Show the CRS summaryHide the CRS summary
This bill delays termination of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee until December 31, 2026. (This committee, part of the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, was established to promote transparency and support oversight of the coronavirus response and certain coronavirus-related funds.)
The bill also renames the committee as the Fraud Prevention and Accountability Committee.
Legislative subjects
Cardiovascular and respiratory health; Congressional oversight; Executive Office of the President; Fraud offenses and financial crimes; Government Operations and Politics; Government ethics and transparency, public corruption; Government studies and investigations; Infectious and parasitic diseases