Profiles · Oversight
- Type
- Person
- Role
- Oversight and enforcement
- Programs
- PPP, EIDL, Unemployment insurance
- Updated
The profile
Former chief counsel on a Senate fraud-oversight staff; later in intelligence-agency and oversight-policy roles.
Identity and role
Zachary I. "Zack" Schram — a Senate oversight lawyer and former Chief Counsel on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Senate hearing records list him as Chief Counsel for the March 17, 2022 hearing, Pandemic Response and Accountability: Reducing Fraud and Expanding Access to COVID-19 Relief Through Effective Oversight.
Biography / career arc
- Before / entering the period: Senate oversight lawyer with earlier Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations work and later Chief Counsel (Democratic) of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee under Senator Gary Peters (January 2019 – July 2023).
- During: chief counsel on Senate pandemic-response and fraud-oversight work, including the HSGAC hearing record focused on COVID-19 relief fraud and access.
- After: served as Chief of Investigations and Strategic Response in the CIA's Office of General Counsel, then moved to the Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy as a Senior Congressional Oversight Fellow in Washington, D.C.
Pandemic-relief / PPP-EIDL role
Senate-side investigative counsel on relief-fraud oversight, the counterpart to the House staff cohort. The committee's work examined how PPP, EIDL, unemployment insurance, and other relief programs balanced speed, access, and fraud control.
Where they are now (2025–2026)
He is a Senior Congressional Oversight Fellow at the Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy in Washington, D.C., after intelligence-agency counsel work.
Additional public-record notes
Lobbying & industry ties
No lobbying registrations located. His later moves were to the CIA's Office of General Counsel and to a non-profit oversight-policy organization.
Sources held in this archive
Original source documents
- Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy, Zack Schram staff profile
- GovInfo, Senate Hearing 117-564, Pandemic Response and Accountability
- LegiStorm, Zachary I. Schram biography
Related profiles
- Jennifer Naomi Gaspar — Senate PSI staff director in the same fraud-oversight lane.
- Pamela Thiessen — Minority Staff Director of Senate HSGAC in the same hearing record.
Sources
- Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy, Zack Schram staff profile: Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy, Zack Schram staff profile (original: levin-center.org)
- Levin Center, "Levin Center Welcomes Zack Schram to D.C. Office": https://levin-center.org/levin-center-welcomes-zack-schram-to-d-c-office/
- GovInfo, Senate Hearing 117-564, Pandemic Response and Accountability: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-117shrg49912/html/CHRG-117shrg49912.htm
- LegiStorm, Zachary I. Schram biography: LegiStorm, Zachary I. Schram biography (original: legistorm.com)
- Levin Center, Congressional Oversight Boot Camp instructors page: https://levin-center.org/congressional-lawmakers/oversightbootcamps/boot-camp-instructors/