U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) recently introduced legislation to extend the authority of the Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery (SIGPR) in an effort to continue efforts to track down those who defrauded the government of more than $200 billion in COVID relief funds.
“Con artists took advantage of small businesses’ pain during COVID to defraud government programs designed to help hardworking Americans,” said Sen. Ernst, chair of the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. “While we are $36 trillion in debt, we especially cannot afford to leave more than $200 billion floating around, especially in the hands of fraudsters.”
The Complete COVID Collections Act, would extend SIGPR’s authorization through 2030 as well as expand its jurisdiction to cover other Small Business Administration (SBA) COVID-related programs.
The bill was cosponsored by U.S. Sens. Todd Young (R-IN), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), John Curtis (R-UT), and James Lankford (R-OK).
“My Republican colleagues and I are making sure that all resources are available in this fight to get taxpayers’ money back and hold these criminals accountable,” Sen. Ernst said.
In her report, “Small Business COVID-19 Fraud: Three Years Later State of Play,” Ernst outlined the extent of the fraud, claiming that the SBA relief programs operated on a “first come, first served” basis, but the money for relief quickly ran out with many qualifying businesses turned away as fraudsters received funds. One alleged fraudster took home $8 million while nearly 2,000 struggling restaurants in Iowa were left empty-handed, the report stated.
Sen. Ernst urged the Biden administration to take action to recover billions in COVID aid fraudulently obtained, which it began doing in January 2024.