U.S. Rep. John Curtis (R-UT) led seven of his Republican colleagues in calling on the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to immediately investigate unemployment insurance fraud claims.
“Unfortunately there are still hundreds and thousands of Americans out of work because of this horrific virus — which makes these reports of fraud especially concerning,” Rep. Curtis said. “Taken with the billions of taxpayer dollars we authorized to stand up these programs, and at the expense of our future generations, this is a serious and potentially devastating problem.”
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on businesses, Congress in March 2020 passed the Coronavirus, Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which established the temporary Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program to pay weekly unemployment benefits to individuals who normally are ineligible to receive them, according to information provided by Rep. Curtis’ office. Initial requirements for the over $350 billion program asked applicants only to self-certify their identity.
In turn, according to a subsequent DOL Inspector General report, this led to more than $36 billion in fraud and is estimated to account for almost 40 percent of claims filed in certain states, the information states.
At the same time, multiple state unemployment programs last year reportedly froze thousands of accounts with open unemployment claims after detecting fraudulent activity, according to the Feb. 24 letter Rep. Curtis and his colleagues sent to DOL Acting Inspector General Larry Turner.
“It is also our understanding that these criminals primarily targeted the temporary unemployment programs established to help the millions of Americans who lost their jobs as a result of the pandemic,” wrote the lawmakers, who also included U.S. Rep. John Moolenaar (R-MI). “This only underscores the need to swiftly address these loopholes being exploited by criminals.”
Rep. Curtis and the members requested that DOL investigate the claims of fraud, waste and abuse. “If found true, your recommendations of how to safeguard against further attempts to undermine our unemployment system could save millions, if not billions, of taxpayer dollars,” according to their letter.
“We needed to get this right yesterday, and I stand ready to work with the Department of Labor in addition to our state partners to offer any needed assistance,” added Rep. Curtis.