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Committee on Ways and Means For Immediate Release Ensuring Integrity of Unemployment Compensation Committee Explores Anti-Fraud Efforts in the Program WASHINGTON- The nation’s unemployment benefits program, designed to assist those who are temporarily out of work, is a frequent target of fraud and abuse, according to testimony by the General Accounting Office. The testimony cites examples of how the unemployment benefits program and taxpayers who support it overpay billions of dollars as a result of error and fraud, among other reasons. The United States Department of Labor has projected that more than $44 billion in unemployment compensation benefits will be paid to displaced workers in 2002. Anti-fraud measures are a necessity to make certain that those workers needing help are in fact receiving these benefits, while others are not. This week, lawmakers will consider innovative solutions to minimize abuses in the program. “During the recent economic slowdown, our unemployment benefits program has served as an important safety net for millions of hard-working Americans who lost their jobs. Congress recently strengthened that safety net by providing up to an additional 13 weeks of unemployment benefits nationwide,” said Human Resources Subcommittee Chairman Wally Herger (R-CA). “While we provide benefits to millions of unemployed American workers and their families, we also have a responsibility to ensure benefits are going to the right people. That’s why we also provided States an additional $8 billion in Federal funds to support anti-fraud efforts.”
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