Sba Fraud Enforcement Extension Act

Floor Speech

I rise today in support of H.R. 4495, the SBA Fraud Enforcement Extension Act. This bill builds off the work done by Ranking Member Velazquez in a previous Congress. That bill extended the statute of limitations for investigating fraud in the PPP and EIDL programs.

All of the major pandemic relief programs, including the Shuttered Venues Operators Grant Program and Restaurant Revitalization Fund, will have extended statutes of limitations from 5 years to 10 years because of this bill.

Passing this bill into law will send a strong message to fraudsters that their behavior will not be tolerated, and those who committed fraud will be held accountable in the years to come.

The pandemic upended regular SBA operations, and the agency executed 14 years of lending in 14 days to keep small businesses afloat. While these programs helped millions of small businesses, the implementation was not without its flaws.

As we now know, potential fraud could range from $36 billion up to $200 billion. While the exact number will never be known, we do know that the vast majority of that fraud came in the first 9 months under the first Trump administration.

Recognizing the potential for fraud, the Biden administration instituted strong upfront controls for RRF and SVOG. To date, the Office of the Inspector General's work has resulted in charges against 25 individuals, 14 criminal convictions, and more than $61 million in recoveries.

Now, the OIG has 31 open RRF cases and 6 open SVOG cases. While modest in number, these cases are complex, involving layered transactions, false documentation, and financial concealment. These cases will take time to investigate and prosecute, and we owe it to the experts doing the work to give them the tools they need.

Extending the statute of limitations is only part of the equation. We must provide full funding to the Office of the Inspector General so that they have the resources to root out the fraud. Moreover, we need to ensure proper staffing at the SBA to review the 1,892 active SVOG awards totaling over $3.2 billion.

Mr. Speaker, with that said, this legislation is a step in the right direction. I commend Mr. Downing and Mr. Conaway for leading this effort. We need to make sure that no one gets away with fraud simply because the clock ran out.
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Mr. CISNEROS. Mr. Speaker, I will close by thanking Mr. Conaway, Mr. Downing, and Chairman Williams for their work on ensuring taxpayer funds are protected from fraudsters.

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