The U.S. House of Representatives on March 11 voted 295-127 to approve legislation cosponsored by U.S. Reps. Darin LaHood (R-IL) and Ron Estes (R-KS) to extend the statute of limitations for combating and prosecuting the theft of Covid-19 pandemic unemployment benefits.
The Pandemic Unemployment Fraud Enforcement Act, H.R. 1156, which advanced to the U.S. Senate for action, also would give law enforcement time to complete current cases, open new cases, and return billions of dollars to U.S. taxpayers, according to a bill summary provided by the lawmakers.
“The Pandemic Unemployment Fraud Enforcement Act is a common-sense bill that doubles the statute of limitations so we can recover hundreds of billions of stolen taxpayer dollars,” said Rep. LaHood, the lead original cosponsor who introduced H.R. 1156 on Feb. 10 alongside 25 other Republicans, including Rep. Estes and bill sponsor Rep. Jason Smith (R-MO).
“Prosecuting bad actors has a ripple effect that will deter crime and prevent additional losses to the government and American taxpayers,” he added.
Rep. Estes pointed out that during the COVID-19 pandemic, many Americans benefited from getting unemployment insurance (UI).
“But fraudsters took advantage of an overwhelmed system, resulting in more than $100 billion in sham UI payments, including $466 million in UI fraud in my home state of Kansas,” said Rep. Estes. “But the statute of limitations is fast approaching on March 27, and if Congress doesn’t act, these scammers are off the hook.”
Under H.R. 1156, with respect to any unemployment compensation claim funded in whole or in part by Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation or Mixed Earner Unemployment Compensation “shall be brought not later than 10 years after the date of the violation or conspiracy,” according to the bill’s text.
“Congress must act quickly. We cannot retroactively change criminal liability for federal crimes,” Rep. LaHood said. “GAO estimates between $100 and $135 billion … was lost to fraud, yet only $5 billion has been recovered.”
Rep. Estes added that with nearly 1,700 open cases, the bill would give the U.S. Departments of Labor and Justice the tools they need to go after the criminals. “This should be an easy yes for everyone in this chamber,” he said prior to the House vote.
The Senate on March 12 received H.R. 1156 and placed it on the Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders.