New U.S. pandemic watchdog says data, tech issues challenge oversight work

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. government agencies overseeing everything from airlines to hospitals face steep hurdles in tracking and monitoring $2.4 trillion (1.91 trillion pounds) in taxpayer-funded novel coronavirus relief aimed at propping up the U.S. economy, an interagency government watchdog said on Wednesday.

Federal agencies already lacked some data necessary to track government funds and ensure they are spent as Congress intended, a problem compounded by the speed with which the government has shoveled money to businesses, individuals and local governments, the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC) said on Wednesday.