Political Quotes

“I thank Chairman Jason Smith for his leadership on this issue and this important piece of legislation, as well as the leadership of Representatives Malliotakis and Sewell. Mr. Speaker, over the last several years, the number of government checks stolen from the mail has increased dramatically. If I could, I will share just a few statistics: Between 2019 and 2022, there was an 87 percent increase in theft from mailboxes, according to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. According to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, FinCEN, reports of check fraud doubled from 2021 to 2022. FinCEN's most recent report on check fraud found that between February and August of 2023, the bureau received over 15,000 individual reports about mail-theft-related check fraud. Now, this has been a problem in my district in west Tennessee, and we have heard it has been a problem throughout the country. It is well past time that we get mail theft in the United States under control. That does start with giving Federal law enforcement officers the tools and the resources that they need to detect, investigate, and prosecute those behind these thefts. We also have to ensure that victims of mail theft are taken care of and that they can access timely relief. That is why this bill, H.R. 1155, the Recovery of Stolen Checks Act, is so important. Right now, it can take months and months for the IRS to issue a replacement for a stolen refund check. That is a long time.…”