On the recordMarch 11, 2025
I thank Chairman Smith for his leadership on this important piece of legislation. During the pandemic, Congress created three new unemployment benefits and issued $675 billion in benefits to folks who lost their jobs because of the pandemic. Since then, the Government Accountability Office estimates up to $135 billion in fraud nationwide, with some of the more egregious States, like California and New York, reporting $18 billion and $11 billion, respectively, in fraud alone. Despite such rampant fraud, only $5 billion, less than 4 percent, has been recovered. Without H.R. 1156, the statute of limitations to recover fraud will expire in just 2 weeks. Simply put, we cannot let criminals who defrauded the Federal Government retain over $100 billion of improper payments. That money rightfully belongs to the American people and must be recovered. Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge support of this bill.
