By Thérèse Boudreaux | The Center Square
(Worthy News) – Legislation that would give the U.S. Department of Justice more time to track down and punish pandemic-era unemployment insurance (UI) fraud is on its way to the U.S. House floor.
The Pandemic Unemployment Fraud Enforcement Act, introduced by U.S. Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo., provides a five-year extension on the statute of limitations for criminally prosecuting those who committed CARES Act related UI fraud.
According to the DOJ, there are still 157,000 open UI fraud complaints and 1,648 open investigations. If no congressional action is taken, the current statute will expire on March 27, leaving thousands of Americans unreimbursed for stolen benefits and potentially hundreds of fraudsters would be let off the hook.
“Given the volume of existing cases currently under investigation, there is no reason that Congress should not act to ensure law enforcement stays on this beat and goes after these criminals,” Smith told lawmakers. “If we don’t extend the statute of limitations, every one of these investigations will end and those that perpetrated the greatest theft of taxpayer dollars in American history will not be brought to justice.”
While the Government Accountability Office estimates that upwards of $100 billion in unemployment benefits were lost to fraud during the pandemic, only $5 billion have been recovered.
“Fraudsters ran rampant during COVID, taking advantage of states like California that had weak fraud protections in their unemployment insurance systems,” U.S. Rep. Rudy Yakym, R-Ind., a member of the Ways and Means Committee, said. “We can’t let them off the hook by letting the statute of limitations expire.”
Currently, more than 2,000 individuals have been charged with, and over 1,400 convicted of, unemployment insurance fraud since the COVID-19 pandemic began, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
The bill has 25 cosponsors, all Republican, and is part of the GOP’s efforts to address waste, fraud, and abuse connected to the federal government.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
More Worthy News
The suspect in a deadly early-morning shooting in downtown Austin that left at least two people dead and 14 others wounded was wearing clothing bearing Islamic and Iranian imagery, according to multiple media reports, as federal authorities investigate a possible connection to terrorism.
Israel launched targeted strikes against Hezbollah positions in Lebanon on Monday after the Iranian-backed terror group fired projectiles into northern Israel, marking its first direct action against Israel’s northern regions since 2024 and formally widening the regional conflict.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced Sunday night that it has dropped 2,000 bombs across Iran in the first two days of Operation Roaring Lion, marking one of the most intense aerial campaigns in Israel’s history.
In a striking turn of events with profound geopolitical consequences, The UK Sunday Times reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin has indicated a willingness — at least in diplomatic talks — to accept U.S.-backed security guarantees for Ukraine as part of a prospective post-war settlement. This development arrives at a moment of historic intensity, with the United States and Israel conducting major military operations against Iran’s regime in what U.S. leaders are calling a decisive strike against Tehran’s nuclear and missile threat.
President Donald Trump announced in a Truth Social post that Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is dead, describing the development as “justice” for Americans and others worldwide allegedly harmed by the Iranian regime.
A senior Israeli official said Saturday that Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in the opening strike of Operation Roaring Lion, potentially ending the 86-year-old cleric’s 36-year rule over the Islamic Republic.
The FBI is on high alert following the U.S.-Israeli coordinated strikes on Iran overnight.