The House passed a bill on March 11 to extend the statute of limitations when it comes to prosecuting unemployment fraud stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The vote tally was 295–127. Eighty-three Democrats joined all 212 Republicans in voting for the measure.
The bill, introduced by House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-Mo.), would allow for those who commit fraud under the CARES Act to be prosecuted within 10 years after the alleged offense.
The statute of limitations is currently five years.
“Failure to extend this statute of limitations would mean that the thousands of criminals and international criminal organizations that perpetrated the greatest theft of American taxpayer dollars in history will never be brought to justice,” said Smith in a Feb. 11 statement.
There was between $100 billion and $135 billion in unemployment benefits fraud during the pandemic, according to a September 2023 report from the Government Accountability Office.
One estimate puts this figure at $400 billion. Less than 4 percent, or $5 billion, of stolen COVID-19 relief funds have been recovered, according to the House Ways and Means Committee.
There are 1,648 investigations surrounding COVID-19 fraud that have not yet resulted in criminal charges, according to the committee.
“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,” said Smith.
“Taking them off the streets will not only ensure justice is done but will also help prevent those same crime organizations from being free to defraud the American taxpayer once again.”
Additionally, the House passed on March 11 a resolution to repeal Biden-era regulations from the Internal Revenue Service.
The vote tally on the measure, introduced by Rep. Mike Carey (R-Ohio), was 292–132 with one voting “present.” Seventy-six Democrats joined all 216 Republicans in voting for it.
Titled “Gross Proceeds Reporting by Brokers That Regularly Provide Services Effectuating Digital Asset Sales,” the regulations were issued on Dec. 30, 2024, shortly before President Joe Biden left office, and took effect on Feb. 25, just over a month after President Donald Trump was sworn in.
The regulations “included rules that would apply to brokers that generally act as agents and dealers in transactions with their customers involving digital assets, which are defined generally as any digital representation of value that is not cash and is recorded on a cryptographically secured distributed ledger.”
Digital assets include cryptocurrency.
The IRS regulations include “rules that would apply to brokers that act as digital asset middlemen, a new category of broker proposed to address the use of digital assets to make certain payments and to reflect the clarified definition of broker under the Infrastructure Act.”
The resolution was introduced in accordance with the Congressional Review Act, which allows Congress to repeal regulations issued within the past 60 legislative days.
Both the bill and resolution now head to the Senate. Only a simple majority is needed for the resolution while 60 votes are needed to advance the bill in overcoming a filibuster.
