PRAC Executive Director Testifies on Oversight of Small Business Administration Pandemic Relief Programs

Summary

A press release dated 03/06/2026 saying Ken Dieffenbach, Executive Director of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC), testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship on Wednesday, February 25, 2026. The hearing was titled “From Fraud to Recovery: Restoring Integrity in Small Business Programs”. It says Mr. Dieffenbach outlined how proactive use of the PRAC’s data and technology has led to more than $500 million in recoveries. It says the PRAC has supported more than 50 federal law enforcement and Office of Inspectors General partners on over 1,200 pandemic-related investigations, with over 24,000 subjects and a potential fraud loss of $2.5 billion. It refers to the PRAC’s new Strategic Plan for 2025 to 2030.

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<Press Release>

PRAC Executive Director Testifies on Oversight of Small Business Administration Pandemic Relief Programs

03/06/2026

Ken Dieffenbach, Executive Director of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC), testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship on Wednesday, February 25, 2026, at a hearing titled, “ From Fraud to Recovery: Restoring Integrity in Small Business Programs .”

Executive Director Dieffenbach discussed the PRAC’s work overseeing funds related to the pandemic and One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) Act to improve fraud identification and prevention across federal programs, including those intended to help small businesses.

“One of the many lessons of the pandemic is that fraudsters rarely target just one government program; they exploit vulnerabilities wherever they exist,” said Mr. Dieffenbach. “This is why the PRAC uniquely focuses on cross-program and cross-agency risks.”

Mr. Dieffenbach outlined how proactive use of the PRAC’s data and technology has led to more than $500 million in recoveries. The PRAC’s data analytics support is a critical asset to law enforcement partners, offering data management, advanced analytic capabilities, and investigative lead generation. To date, the PRAC has supported more than 50 federal law enforcement and Office of Inspectors General partners on over 1,200 pandemic-related investigations, with over 24,000 subjects and a potential fraud loss of $2.5 billion.

With its new Strategic Plan for 2025 to 2030, the PRAC will continue to provide law enforcement and Inspector General partners with robust investigative support related to the pandemic and OBBB Act funds, deploy its proof-of-concept Fraud Prevention Engine to identify high-risk and potentially fraudulent applications for federal funding in those programs, and provide support across the federal oversight community. The PRAC’s unique cross program, cross agency capabilities are key to preventing fraud and recovering taxpayer dollars lost to fraud, waste, and abuse.

Read the Executive Director’s full statement .

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The PRAC promotes transparency and supports oversight of the funds provided by the CARES Act, other emergency coronavirus-related spending bills, and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. In addition to its coordination and oversight responsibilities, the PRAC is tasked with supporting efforts to “prevent and detect fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement [and] mitigate major risks that cut across program and agency boundaries” within its jurisdiction.

If you have additional questions, please contact Lisa Reijula at lisa.reijula@cigie.gov .

Page last modified: 03/06/2026

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