Wichita Standard

The House of Representatives has approved the Pandemic Unemployment Fraud Enforcement Act, also known as H.R. 1156, with a vote tally of 295-127. The legislation received bipartisan support, with 83 Democrats joining all Republicans in favor. This bill aims to address significant fraud that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic by extending the statute of limitations for prosecuting cases related to unemployment insurance theft.

According to estimates from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), between $100 billion and $135 billion in unemployment insurance benefits were stolen during the pandemic, while only $5 billion has been recovered so far. The newly passed legislation extends the timeframe for law enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute these cases, allowing more time to potentially recover billions in taxpayer funds.

Representative Ron Estes from Kansas expressed strong support for the bill before it was passed by the House. "We know that during the COVID-19 pandemic, many Americans benefited from unemployment insurance," said Rep. Estes. "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. But the statute of limitations is fast approaching on March 27, and if Congress doesn’t act, these scammers are off the hook."

Rep. Estes further emphasized that this legislation provides necessary tools for both Labor and Justice departments to pursue nearly 1,700 open cases involving fraudulent claims made using stolen identities.

The bill's passage represents a legislative effort to curb waste and abuse associated with pandemic relief programs by targeting individuals who exploited vulnerabilities within an overburdened system.