The hands of federal law enforcement are linked to the expiration of restrictions laws for prosecuting fraud in Covid-era unemployment programs.
Congress extended the pandemic-era business relief fraud restrictions law in 2022, but the window to prosecute fraud in individual relief programs ended Thursday.
“There’s a huge amount of fraud law enforcement officers are still trying to track,” said Andrew Moylan, a fiscal policy expert at Arnold Ventures, a private charity group.
“From today, every day, we will lose the ability to prosecute fraud every day. That’s a big problem and this should be an easy fix for Congress.”
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Despite opposition from 127 House Democrats, including minority leader Hakeem Jeffries, the House passed a bipartisan bill earlier this month, extending the Pandemic Unemployment Fraud Restrictions Act from five to ten years. The move reflects what lawmakers did for the 2022 Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury and Disaster Loan Program.
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But the Senate has yet to take up the companion bill needed to solidify the extension, so House is guiding his Capitol Hill colleagues to call on them to make it a priority.
“These fraudsters can’t afford to escape the biggest tax robbery in American history,” Senator Jason Smith, chairman of the House Way & Means Committee, said Wednesday. “Not only do taxpayers have to collect as much money as possible, they also need to send a message that will never fall into chasing criminals who use help to those in need.
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Estimates from the government’s Accountability Office show that as many as $135 billion in pandemic unemployment insurance programs have been lost due to fraud during the pandemic. So far, less than $5 billion, or 4%, have been recovered.
R-Mo, chairman of the House Ways & Means Committee. Rep. Jason Smith will discuss at a hearing on making Trump’s tax cuts permanent. (Houseway and Means)
According to a fact sheet released by Smith, there are more than 2,500 claims criminal matters or ongoing on-site investigations between the Department of Justice, the Department of Labor and Labor, which are linked to criminal unemployment fraud during the Covid era.
Federal law enforcement cannot prosecute these cases unless the restrictions are extended by Congress.
Moylan pointed out that the majority of unemployment fraud during Covid stems from “loop holes,” which means it comes from the “big” that allows you to run through the tracks in the pandemic unemployment assistance program.
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“They didn’t have strict enough documentation requirements, so basically anyone could apply for it and prove they were engaged in self-employed activities…and in the process we argue a significant amount of unemployment benefits,” Moylan said. He also pointed out how people apply for financial aid in the names of dead people or prison prisoners.
“In California, claims on behalf of prisoners in California promoted fraud worth around $1 billion,” he said.
House lawmakers are calling on Senate colleagues to follow their lead and pass a bill that extends the restrictions bill to prosecute unemployment fraud during the pandemic era. (Reuters/Fox News Digital)
This month, GOP lawmakers, including Smith, called on Senate colleagues to take up House laws to extend the restrictions laws related to pandemic unemployment fraud.
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When asked why he thought the Senate hadn’t yet taken up the bill to extend the Pandemic Unemployment Fraud Restrictions Act, Moyran assumed it was “area of attention.”
“This didn’t take to heart that nominations were in the first part of the Senate, or the budget resolution, or now the tax conversation, or whatever the scandal of the day, the nominations were in the first part of the year,” Moylan said.
“These are things that seem to control the Senate lawsuits. We are now in a situation where we will lose the ability to prosecute more fraud in this program if they don’t act quickly.”
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