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Unemployment Insurance Fraud

Less than $1 billion has been recaptured of the total taxpayer dollars lost in improper UI payments over the course of the pandemic, according to testimony from the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Inspector General Larry Turner, who also raised the “low-end” estimate of the total losses from $87 billion to $163 billion. Outside experts say the number could be as high as $400 billion.

While Republican Committee Members have sounded the alarm on COVID-related fraud for more than a year, the Biden Administration has no idea how many tax dollars have been lost to fraud or improperly paid.

Ways and Means Approves Plan to Recover Hundreds of Billions in Misspent, Stolen Unemployment Benefits

March 01, 2023 — Press Releases

WASHINGTON, DC – Yesterday, the House Ways and Means Committee approved legislation to jumpstart recovery efforts on hundreds of billions of dollars of COVID unemployment insurance payments stolen by fraud. The Department of Labor Inspector General estimated that improper payments in pandemic unemployment programs have left taxpayers on the hook for at least $191 billion. ...

Smith, Comer, Ways and Means Republicans Introduce Legislation to Recover Hundreds of Billions in Stolen Unemployment Benefits

February 24, 2023 — Press Releases

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (MO-08) and House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer (KY-01) were joined by Ways and Means Committee Republicans to introduce legislation to recover potentially hundreds of billions of dollars in stolen unemployment benefits. Up to $400 billion, nearly half, of the $878 ...

Ways and Means Republicans Seek Answers on Hundreds of Billions in Fraudulent Unemployment Benefits

February 08, 2023 — Press Releases

Washington, DC - After President Biden once again declared “the watchdogs are back” during the State of the Union yesterday, a hearing on unemployment insurance fraud convened by House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (MO-08) revealed that the federal government still does not know exactly how much money was stolen by criminals in ...

Chairman Smith Opening Statement:  The Greatest Theft of Taxpayer Dollars – Unchecked Unemployment Fraud

February 07, 2023 — Opening Statements

WASHINGTON, DC – House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (MO-08) shined a spotlight today on how Democrats, at every turn, blocked investigations into the greatest theft of taxpayer dollars in American history. In the new majority, Republicans are investigating what exactly is being done or not done to determine the size, scope, and severity of ...

Republicans Vow to Hold the Government Accountable

November 07, 2022 — 'Inflation Reduction Act'

In a series of letters to top officials, Ways and Means Republicans have laid the groundwork for an onslaught of investigations into the Biden Administration’s abuses of power. The Committee will track down the waste of taxpayer dollars, fight for transparency, and hold the Administration accountable for its unprecedented executive overreach. Here’s how Republican Leader ...