NASHVILLE, TENN. – U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Finance Committee Ranking Member Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) led Senate Republicans in reintroducing legislation to help recover funds lost to unemployment insurance (UI) fraud and provide incentives for states to recover fraudulent payments.  The introduction of the legislation follows ongoing concerns that just a sliver of the funds lost to misspent unemployment insurance has been recovered—slightly over $5 billion of an estimated $191 billion.

“Unemployment insurance fraud during the pandemic was widespread and unacceptable, and taxpayers footed the bill,” said Senator Blackburn. “Those who broke the law in receiving these payments must be identified and held accountable. The Protecting Taxpayers and Victims of Unemployment Fraud Act will empower state governments to find and prosecute those who committed fraud, recover the stolen funds, and help prevent unemployment insurance fraud on this scale from happening again.”

“Improper payments in pandemic unemployment programs left taxpayers on the hook for hundreds of billions of dollars,” said Senator Crapo. “This legislation will help gain restitution for victims of fraud and theft by jumpstarting efforts to claw back federal funds and recover fraudulent payments.”

The Protecting Taxpayers and Victims of Unemployment Fraud Act would advance efforts to claw back federal funds stolen through UI fraud and pursue recovery of fraudulent payments by ensuring aggressive identification, investigation and prosecution of criminal fraud in pandemic unemployment programs. It also gives the federal government and states better tools to detect and prevent future fraud in federal UI programs. The U.S. House of Representatives, led by House Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith (R-Mo.), passed a companion bill (H.R. 1163).

The Protecting Taxpayers and Victims of Unemployment Fraud Act:

·       Allows states to keep 25 percent of recovered fraudulent overpayments of federal funds.

·       Allows states to use recovered funds to improve program integrity and fraud prevention.

·       Allows states to keep 5 percent of state UI overpayments, conditioned on meeting data matching integrity conditions and dedicating those funds to preventing future fraud.

·       Extends the statute of limitations for criminal charges or civil actions from 5 to 10 years.

Bill text can be found here.

In addition to Senator Blackburn, the bill is co-sponsored by Senators Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.V.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), John Kennedy (R-La.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Mitt Romney (R-Utah), John Thune (R-S.D.), and Todd Young (R-Ind.).