Recovery of Stolen Checks Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. MALLIOTAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman and the Ways and Means Committee staff for working with me on this legislation to combat mail theft and fraud.

A few months ago, I raised the issue of stolen checks to the Ways and Means Committee after my office had been slammed with constituent cases from taxpayers who have seen their hard-earned money stolen from them via check fraud.

I, alongside my colleagues, Congresswoman Terri Sewell and Congressman David Kustoff, introduced H.R. 1155, the Recovery of Stolen Checks Act, a bipartisan bill that would allow taxpayers whose tax refunds were stolen in the mail to receive a replacement payment via direct deposit. This legislation passed out of the Ways and Means Committee last month on a bipartisan basis, and it was unanimous.

In my district alone, we have seen 376 constituents who have had stolen IRS checks. The amount is staggering: $5.4 million, and that is in my district alone.

Out of these 376 cases, 50 times checks were stolen twice, 7 times they were stolen 3 times, and in some cases, checks were even stolen 4 times in a row from the same constituent.

It has been reported that for IRS checks alone, approximately 40,000 were stolen nationally in 2024 and that is up from 100 checks in 2022.

The value stolen has been approximately $1 billion, and this has become a real business for criminal organizations and enterprises and the fraudsters who are preying upon American citizens.

It is very unfortunate that we are seeing this hardship and stress placed on the intended recipients who have had to endure seeing their checks being stolen and then they have to wait months to sometimes see their replacement check also stolen.

This is not just happening with IRS tax refunds. It is also happening with Social Security and other benefits that our constituents rely on.

Approximately 10 percent of American taxpayers receive their tax refunds via paper checks, equating to about 10 million paper checks issued annually. While the majority of taxpayers opt for direct deposit, a significant number still receive refunds through traditional mail.

The IRS plays a critical role in ensuring taxpayers receive their hard-earned refund securely and efficiently. However, outdated IT infrastructure and delivery systems have left many vulnerable to fraud and stolen tax reimbursement checks.

Modernizing these systems is no longer optional. It is necessary to protect taxpayers, to enhance efficiency, and to reduce fraud. Obviously, there is still more work to be done. We still need the DOJ and our law enforcement partners to continue their investigations to find and prosecute these fraudsters. We are hearing of arrests and prosecutions on a regular basis, but we urge them to continue their good work.

This is an essential first step in addressing the increasing frequency of mail theft. I am encouraged by President Trump's executive order last week titled, ``Modernizing Payments to and From America's Bank Account,'' which intends to phase out most paper checks by September of this year and modernize other government payment systems.

I thank President Trump and Secretary Bessent for their quick and decisive actions here to address this matter. It was within weeks of me speaking with the Secretary that they issued this executive order.

My legislation here today will ensure that in those cases where there are exceptions or accommodations, a direct deposit option will be available for the intended recipient if those physical checks are stolen--that was something the IRS had given us such a hard time about--so taxpayers can receive their payments via direct deposit when they needed replacement.

I was also pleased to learn that the Bureau of Fiscal Service recently launched a pilot program to leverage existing technology and services offered by the U.S. Postal Service to track the transmittal of checks. I look forward to reviewing the results of this pilot program and working with the administration to modernize delivery systems across the Federal Government and ensure stronger safeguards against mail fraud in the future.

Mr. Speaker, again, I thank the chairman and my colleagues for their work on this bill. I look forward to seeing this bill pass unanimously on the floor today as well. Let's protect American taxpayers and make sure they are no longer victims of this type of check fraud.

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