Recover Covid Unemployment Fraud in Banks Act

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 8873, the Recover COVID Unemployment Fraud in Banks Act.

I thank Chairman Smith, and I want to especially thank my colleague Representative Van Duyne for sponsoring this bipartisan, commonsense bill that will help root out fraud, protect vulnerable Americans, and help return stolen funds to the States who were robbed.

We have to remember that COVID was a really terrifying period for our country. Everyone was vulnerable, and hardworking Americans lost their jobs, homes, and loved ones overnight.

Many struggling families were forced to rely on unemployment assistance to make ends meet. Twenty-two million workers lost their jobs, and about a quarter of all U.S. workers received unemployment benefits.

As a result, States issued billions in unemployment benefits, some of it on prepaid debit cards through contracts with banks. These benefits were meant to help families afford their basic needs during the lockdown. These benefits kept more than 5 million people out of poverty as they faced the threat of mortgage defaults, utility shutoffs, and hunger.

Unfortunately, while people were isolated and overwhelmed and desperate for reliable information, criminals and fraudsters exploited those vulnerabilities and attacked unsuspecting Americans. In fact, domestic and international cybercrime rings weaponized stolen identities. That is, they stole people's identities. They used loopholes to actually apply for unemployment insurance using the fake identities that they had stolen, and they applied for this Federal pandemic aid.

Right now, as I speak to you, some of the stolen money is still sitting untouched in debit cards. Even worse, investigators estimate that the majority of fraudulent debit cards are as a result of identity theft, and many of the victims have no idea that they were even targeted. These are working families and senior citizens.

Cybercriminals have figured out how to take complete advantage of our system. Most importantly, they wait to withdraw the funds from these debit cards until the statute of limitations expires on each case and, therefore, avoid the legal consequences for stealing.

According to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, FinCEN, in 2021, banks experienced $212 billion in suspicious activity related to identity. That number increased to $394 billion in transactions in 2023.

The statute of limitations for prosecuting many of these pandemic crimes is 5 years, meaning that consequences began expiring for some of these criminals in March of 2025. This has already resulted in the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayer funds. We have to act now, before we lose these millions of dollars.

Congress has to be united in going after fraud and protecting Americans from illegal scams and identity theft. We have an opportunity to take that action today by supporting H.R. 8873, Recover COVID Unemployment Fraud in Banks Act.

This bill would extend the statute of limitations for the remaining cases, where it hasn't already expired, and create a task force to support recovery of those funds identified by the inspector general that can be recovered cost-effectively, without diverting time or money from future fraud protection.

Every time a debit card that was issued using a stolen identity is detected, in addition to recovering the money, this bill ensures that the victim of the theft is notified and provided with resources.

This is critically important because, if the criminal has used the victim's identity to apply for pandemic unemployment insurance, chances are that that criminal is going to use that stolen identity to commit other crimes as well.

By extending the statute of limitations, this bill would allow the Office of the Inspector General to complete at least 300 current investigations into large-scale unemployment insurance fraud and potentially recover those funds for the taxpayer.

By supporting this bill, Congress can help States focus their energy on the most cost-effective prevention and recovery efforts. Money recovered by the States will help ensure that State unemployment insurance systems are able to prevent fraud and pay earned benefits on time and accurately to unemployed Americans in the future.

This is especially important right now. Gas prices are too high. Grocery prices are too high. Healthcare prices are too high, and too many Americans live in fear of losing their jobs and being unable to afford their families' basic needs.

We have a responsibility to eradicate fraud, hold fraudsters accountable, and keep Americans and their identities safe from harm online.

Mr. Speaker, I once again thank Representative Van Duyne for sponsoring this commonsense bill, and I urge all Members to support this legislation.

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Mr. SUOZZI. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I am prepared to close.

H.R. 8873, the Recover COVID Unemployment Fraud in Banks Act, is a commonsense bill that helps eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse; recovers stolen taxpayer dollars; and protects some of our most vulnerable citizens, including older Americans.

At a time when too many families face the uncertainty of unemployment, high gas and grocery prices, and seniors are forced to choose between food, rent, and healthcare, we can't allow fraudsters to get away with stealing funds meant to help hardworking families.

We have a responsibility to root out fraud, hold bad actors accountable, and protect Americans and their identities from being exploited ever again.

I again thank the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Van Duyne), my colleague, for working in a bipartisan and collaborative fashion on this commonsense legislation. I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan bill.

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