Darin LaHood Touts Pandemic Unemployment Fraud Bill To 'Deter Crime And Prevent Additional Losses'

8 hours ago

During debate on the House floor, Rep. Darin LaHood (R-IL) spoke in support of HR 1156, the Pandemic Unemployment Fraud Enforcement Act.

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Transcript

00:00The gentleman is recognized. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Chairman Smith, for your

00:04leadership on this very important topic. I rise in strong support of H.R. 1156,

00:10the Pandemic Unemployment Fraud Enforcement Act. This bill extends the statute of limitations for

00:16CARES Act unemployment fraud from five to 10 years to provide law enforcement agencies with

00:22more time to go after the fraudsters and international criminal organizations.

00:27Nearly five years after the CARES Act was signed into law, we are facing the expiration

00:32of the statute of limitations for holding criminals accountable. Congress must act

00:37quickly. We cannot retroactively change criminal liability for federal crimes. As Chairman of the

00:42Work and Welfare Subcommittee, we have done considerable oversight to investigate the size

00:47and scope of unemployment fraud throughout the pandemic. GAO estimates between 100 and 130

00:56billion with a B was lost to fraud, yet only 5 billion has been recovered.

01:04This February, our subcommittee held a hearing with fraud experts from across the country. One

01:09of our witnesses said that as much as 70 percent of the fraudulent unemployment benefits went to

01:15Russian mobsters, Chinese hackers, and Nigerian scammers. A recent DOJ case involved a Pennsylvania

01:24man obtaining $59 million in public benefits and laundering the proceeds to China. As a member of

01:31the House Select Committee on China, cases like this are deeply concerning to me and confirm our

01:38worst fears regarding the attacks on our institutions by hostile nations such as

01:43China and the CCP. Witnesses also told us that fraud is continuing to happen.

01:48Fraudsters are now targeting the disaster unemployment benefits using stolen identities

01:54of California fire victims. The Pandemic Unemployment Fraud Enforcement Act is a

02:00common-sense bill that doubles the statute of limitations so we can recover hundreds of billions

02:07of stolen taxpayer dollars. Prosecuting bad actors has a ripple effect that will deter crime and

02:14prevent additional losses to the government and American taxpayers. The DOJ has more than 1,600

02:22open cases, uncharged COVID-19 criminal matters, and the Department of Labor Inspector General has

02:29yet to investigate 157,000 UI fraud hotline complaints. This bill is simple. Once the

02:37statute of limitations expires, these cases will go cold and criminals will go unpunished.

02:43Let me be clear. A vote against this bill is a vote to surrender

02:47to fraudsters and criminals. Don't let the criminals and fraudsters win.

02:52I urge my colleagues to support this bill and I yield back.

Darin LaHood Touts Pandemic Unemployment Fraud Bill To 'Deter Crime And Prevent Additional Losses'

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