Recover COVID Unemployment Fraud in Banks Act

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 8873, the Recover COVID Unemployment Fraud in Banks Act.

I thank Chairman Smith, and I want to especially thank my colleague Representative Van Duyne for sponsoring this bipartisan, commonsense bill that will help root out fraud, protect vulnerable Americans, and help return stolen funds to the States who were robbed.

We have to remember that COVID was a really terrifying period for our country. Everyone was vulnerable, and hardworking Americans lost their jobs, homes, and loved ones overnight.

Many struggling families were forced to rely on unemployment assistance to make ends meet. Twenty-two million workers lost their jobs, and about a quarter of all U.S. workers received unemployment benefits.

As a result, States issued billions in unemployment benefits, some of it on prepaid debit cards through contracts with banks. These benefits were meant to help families afford their basic needs during the lockdown. These benefits kept more than 5 million people out of poverty as they faced the threat of mortgage defaults, utility shutoffs, and hunger.

Unfortunately, while people were isolated and overwhelmed and desperate for reliable information, criminals and fraudsters exploited those vulnerabilities and attacked unsuspecting Americans. In fact, domestic and international cybercrime rings weaponized stolen identities. That is, they stole people's identities. They used loopholes to actually apply for unemployment insurance using the fake identities that they had stolen, and they applied for this Federal pandemic aid.

Right now, as I speak to you, some of the stolen money is still sitting untouched in debit cards. Even worse, investigators estimate that the majority of fraudulent debit cards are as a result of identity theft, and many of the victims have no idea that they were even targeted. These are working families and senior citizens.

Cybercriminals have figured out how to take complete advantage of our system. Most importantly, they wait to withdraw the funds from these debit cards until the statute of limitations expires on each case and, therefore, avoid the legal consequences for stealing.

According to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, FinCEN, in 2021,

banks experienced $212 billion in suspicious activity related to identity. That number increased to $394 billion in transactions in 2023.

The statute of limitations for prosecuting many of these pandemic crimes is 5 years, meaning that consequences began expiring for some of these criminals in March of 2025. This has already resulted in the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayer funds. We have to act now, before we lose these millions of dollars.

Congress has to be united in going after fraud and protecting Americans from illegal scams and identity theft. We have an opportunity to take that action today by supporting H.R. 8873, Recover COVID Unemployment Fraud in Banks Act.

This bill would extend the statute of limitations for the remaining cases, where it hasn't already expired, and create a task force to support recovery of those funds identified by the inspector general that can be recovered cost-effectively, without diverting time or money from future fraud protection.

Every time a debit card that was issued using a stolen identity is detected, in addition to recovering the money, this bill ensures that the victim of the theft is notified and provided with resources.

This is critically important because, if the criminal has used the victim's identity to apply for pandemic unemployment insurance, chances are that that criminal is going to use that stolen identity to commit other crimes as well.

By extending the statute of limitations, this bill would allow the Office of the Inspector General to complete at least 300 current investigations into large-scale unemployment insurance fraud and potentially recover those funds for the taxpayer.

By supporting this bill, Congress can help States focus their energy on the most cost-effective prevention and recovery efforts. Money recovered by the States will help ensure that State unemployment insurance systems are able to prevent fraud and pay earned benefits on time and accurately to unemployed Americans in the future.

This is especially important right now. Gas prices are too high. Grocery prices are too high. Healthcare prices are too high, and too many Americans live in fear of losing their jobs and being unable to afford their families' basic needs.

We have a responsibility to eradicate fraud, hold fraudsters accountable, and keep Americans and their identities safe from harm online.

Mr. Speaker, I once again thank Representative Van Duyne for sponsoring this commonsense bill, and I urge all Members to support this legislation. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I am prepared to close.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

H.R. 8873, the Recover COVID Unemployment Fraud in Banks Act, is a commonsense bill that helps eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse; recovers stolen taxpayer dollars; and protects some of our most vulnerable citizens, including older Americans.

At a time when too many families face the uncertainty of unemployment, high gas and grocery prices, and seniors are forced to choose between food, rent, and healthcare, we can't allow fraudsters to get away with stealing funds meant to help hardworking families.

We have a responsibility to root out fraud, hold bad actors accountable, and protect Americans and their identities from being exploited ever again.

I again thank the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Van Duyne), my colleague, for working in a bipartisan and collaborative fashion on this commonsense legislation. I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 8873) to recover unclaimed pandemic-era unemployment compensation funds held by financial institutions or escheated to State unclaimed property administrators, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and submit extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Recover COVID Unemployment Fraud in Banks Act led by my Ways and Means colleagues Representative Beth Van Duyne and Representative Tom Suozzi.

As the lead sponsor of this legislation, Representative Van Duyne has been shining a spotlight on the fraud epidemic, even from her earliest days serving on the Ways and Means Committee.

Unemployment insurance benefits are a target-rich environment for fraudsters.

According to the Government Accountability Office, between $100 billion to $135 billion in COVID-era unemployment benefits are estimated to have been taken by fraudsters using eligibility loopholes and stolen identities.

Of that money, a Department of Labor Inspector General investigation found that nearly $1 billion of fraudulent COVID-era unemployment benefits is currently frozen and being held in financial institutions across the country. At one financial institution, the highest balance on a single card is $76,000. At a second financial institution, it is $56,000.

The statute of limitations for prosecuting COVID-era unemployment insurance fraud has already begun to expire, limiting the amount of money law enforcement can return or the number of criminals that they can bring to justice. Time is of the essence to recover the money stolen and rightfully owed to taxpayers.

This bipartisan bill establishes a new Federal task force to work with States to return the fraudulent unemployment benefits sitting in banks to American taxpayers.

The task force will develop model processes and guidance necessary for States to reclaim funds in a cost-efficient way, issue guidance to financial institutions on the legal path for returning funds, and establish due process protections for claimants whose identity was stolen as part of the crime.

Additionally, the bill doubles the statute of limitations for COVID- era unemployment insurance fraud prosecution from 5 to 10 years. As of last year, the Department of Labor reported more than 150,000 open complaints, and the Department of Justice had more than 1,648 open investigations regarding pandemic unemployment fraud. Prosecutors need more time to hold criminals accountable.

Every day Congress waits to pass this bill is another day that another fraudster will get away with stealing money that rightfully belongs to taxpayers and individuals in need.

The Recover COVID Unemployment Fraud in Banks Act passed 41-0 out of the Ways and Means Committee. This bill has also received the endorsement from the National Association of State Workforce Agencies, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance, and the Strategic Services on Unemployment and Workers' Compensation.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to provide a similar level of support and advance this to the Senate and President Trump's desk.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Van Duyne).

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I am glad the Committee on Ways and Means was able to come together in bipartisan unity and bring this important piece of legislation to the floor.

The American people expect Congress to root out the fraud in the critical social safety net so many rely on, including unemployment insurance.

To date, only $6 billion of stolen UI benefits have been recovered.

It is shameful that these benefits were stolen from vulnerable Americans in the first place. It will be equally shameful if Congress doesn't pass the bipartisan bill, recover the fraudulent unemployment benefits we know are sitting in banks, and prosecute more fraudsters.

I thank all of my colleagues, but especially the leaders of this bill, Representatives Van Duyne and Suozzi, for their leadership in fighting fraud.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 8873, the Recover COVID Unemployment Fraud in Banks Act, which I was proud to introduce with the gentleman from New York (Mr. Suozzi), my bipartisan partner.

This commonsense legislation creates a Federal task force to work with States to recover unspent Federal pandemic unemployment funds that remain frozen in financial institutions and return those taxpayer dollars to the U.S. Treasury, but Congress must act quickly.

Last December, the Department of Labor's Office of Inspector General issued two fraud alerts identifying nearly $1 billion in unspent Federal unemployment funds frozen by banks because of suspected fraud. Those funds are now sitting on millions of prepaid debit cards that States used to distribute supplemental unemployment benefits during the pandemic.

More than 6 years later, many of these accounts have simply been forgotten. They remain unreconciled by State workforce agencies and, in many cases, have even been transferred to State unclaimed property divisions, making recovery even that much more difficult. Without congressional action, hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars could be lost permanently.

The Committee on Ways and Means has made combating pandemic unemployment fraud a top priority. Earlier this year, the Subcommittee on Work and Welfare held a hearing that examined the scope of this problem and the consequences of failing to act.

During that hearing, the Department of Labor Inspector General testified that the fraud alerts covered prepaid debit card accounts across 21 States and that more than $200 million in suspected fraudulent funds have already been transferred into State unclaimed property programs.

H.R. 8873 addresses this problem by establishing a Federal task force, led by a national recovery coordinator, to partner with States in identifying, recovering, and returning those Federal unemployment dollars to taxpayers.

The bill also extends the statute of limitations for prosecuting pandemic unemployment fraud from 5 years to 10 years. This provision mirrors H.R. 1156, the Pandemic Unemployment Fraud Enforcement Act, which passed the House last year with bipartisan support.

Federal investigators are still actively pursuing hundreds of pandemic fraud cases. Since October 2025 alone, the Department of Labor Inspector General has brought 59 criminal matters to prosecution, resulting in charges against 131 individuals and more than $16 million in recoveries. Extending the statute of limitations ensures prosecutors have the time they need to hold fraudsters accountable.

This legislation has earned bipartisan support from the National Association of State Workforce Agencies, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance, and Strategic Services on Unemployment & Workers' Compensation.

Every dollar stolen through fraud is a dollar that cannot serve hardworking Americans or reduce our Nation's debt. It is not too late to recover these taxpayer funds, and it is not too late to hold criminals accountable. H.R. 8873 gives us the tools to do both.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan legislation.