Washington, DC – This morning, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-MI) issued the following statement upon receiving notification from the Department of Labor (DOL) that it is instructing states to recover any overpayments to those Federal employees who received unemployment benefits as a result of the recent government shutdown, but whose pay has since been restored by Congress.  The Administration’s action came as DOL provided guidance to the states that furloughed Federal employees should be treated as having been working and not eligible for unemployment benefits.  The news comes a day after Chairman Camp, Human Resources Subcommittee Chairman Dave Reichert (R-WA) and 17 other Committee Members sent a letter calling on the Obama Administration to prevent recently furloughed Federal employees from collecting and keeping unemployment benefits, a practice commonly known as “double-dipping.”

“Today, accountability has prevailed.  I am pleased that the Administration took swift action in response to the Committee’s call to stop the practice of double-dipping.  Had this been allowed to continue, it would have further threatened the integrity of the unemployment benefits program.  Unemployment benefits are intended to serve unemployed individuals who have been laid off through no fault of their own, and not temporarily furloughed Federal employees who have already received full back pay.  It is the job of the government to protect taxpayer dollars and ensure they are used efficiently and effectively.  Today’s announcement reinforces that we can, and will, hold the government accountable so that it works for taxpayers, not against them.”