Recover COVID Unemployment Fraud in Banks Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8873 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8873

To recover unclaimed pandemic-era unemployment compensation funds held
  by financial institutions or escheated to State unclaimed property
                administrators, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 19, 2026

  Ms. Van Duyne (for herself and Mr. Suozzi) introduced the following
      bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

To recover unclaimed pandemic-era unemployment compensation funds held
  by financial institutions or escheated to State unclaimed property
                administrators, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Recover COVID Unemployment Fraud in
Banks Act''.

SEC. 2. NATIONAL RECOVERY COORDINATOR AND TASK FORCE.

    (a) In General.--
            (1) Designation of national recovery coordinator.--The
        Secretary of Labor, in consultation with the Secretary of the
        Treasury, the Inspector General of the Department of Labor, and
        the Attorney General, shall designate an official to serve as
        National Recovery Coordinator to oversee and coordinate the
        activities and responsibilities of the task force described in
        paragraph (2).
            (2) Task force establishment.--Not later than 30 days after
        the date of enactment of this Act, the National Recovery
        Coordinator shall convene a task force to be named the
        ``Recover Pandemic Unemployment Funds in Banks Task Force'' (in
        this section, the ``Task Force'').
            (3) Members.--The Task Force shall include--
                    (A) the Attorney General, or their designee;
                    (B) the Secretary of Labor, or their designee;
                    (C) the Inspector General of the Department of
                Labor, or their designee;
                    (D) the Secretary of the Treasury, or their
                designee;
                    (E) the Chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance
                Corporation, or their designee; and
                    (F) the Director of the Consumer Financial
                Protection Bureau, or their designee.
    (b) Task Force Responsibilities.--It shall be the responsibility of
the Task Force to--
            (1) coordinate with applicable State agencies to identify
        Federal pandemic unemployment compensation payments issued on
        prepaid debit cards that--
                    (A) are held by financial institutions, and other
                entities identified by the Inspector General of the
                Department of Labor, contracted by a State agency to
                transfer such payments to unemployment claimants; or
                    (B) were transferred by such an entity to, and are
                currently held by, a State agency responsible for
                unclaimed property;
            (2) coordinate with appropriate Federal agencies to develop
        model processes which comply with relevant Federal and State
        laws and result in cost-effective recovery of the payments
        identified under paragraph (1), including issuing guidance, in
        coordination with the Secretary of Labor, to administrators of
        State agencies responsible for administering Federal
        unemployment compensation payments or determining fraud in such
        programs, including--
                    (A) guidelines for--
                            (i) reviewing such payments and determining
                        if such a payment was an improper payment;
                            (ii) determining whether cost-effective
                        recovery of an improper payment is possible,
                        including a threshold, or a methodology for
                        calculating a dollar threshold, for cost-
                        effective recovery; and
                            (iii) actions, consistent with State law,
                        to be taken by the State agency if an improper
                        payment is determined to be the result of
                        fraud;
                    (B) assurances that, subject to section 303(g) of
                the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 503(g)), any action
                taken in relation to a determination that a payment
                identified under paragraph (1) is an improper payment
                shall be taken under State law;
                    (C) a model notice and information, developed in
                coordination with the Consumer Financial Protection
                Bureau, about resources available to individuals whose
                identity information is determined to have been
                fraudulently used to obtain Federal pandemic
                unemployment compensation;
                    (D) information on the legal pathways described
                under paragraphs (3) and (4) for recovery of payments
                that are improper payments held by institutions and
                agencies described in paragraph (1); and
                    (E) procedural requirements for State agencies to
                follow when funds are returned by such institutions
                that provides a standardized methodology to return
                funds to the Federal Government;
            (3) issue guidance, in coordination with the Comptroller of
        the Currency and Chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance
        Corporation, to financial institutions described in paragraph
        (1) that are holding payments that are improper payments that
        provides information on a legal pathway, consistent with
        banking regulations and applicable contracts with State
        agencies, for returning such payments to the appropriate State
        agency; and
            (4) issue guidance, in coordination with the Secretary of
        Treasury, to administrators of State agencies responsible for
        unclaimed property on the obligations of such agencies to
        review and return payments described in paragraph (1)(B) to the
        appropriate State agency.
    (c) Consultation Requirement.--In developing the guidance required
to be issued under paragraphs (2), (3), and (4) of subsection (b), the
Task Force shall consult with State agencies and incorporate best
practices from previous attempts by any such States to recover payments
determined to be improper payments from institutions described in
paragraph (1)(A) of such subsection.
    (d) State Administrative Costs.--The Secretary of Labor shall
reimburse States for all administrative costs incurred as a result of
coordination with the Task Force by reason of an agreement under
section 2102, 2104, or 2107 of the CARES Act (15 U.S.C. 9201; 9203;
9205).
    (e) Definitions.--Except as otherwise specified, in this section:
            (1) Federal pandemic unemployment compensation.--The term
        ``Federal pandemic unemployment compensation'' means a payment
        of--
                    (A) assistance under section 2102(b) of the CARES
                Act (15 U.S.C. 9021(b));
                    (B) Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation and
                Mixed Earner Unemployment Compensation under section
                2104(b)(1) of the CARES Act (15 U.S.C. 9023(b)(1)); and
                    (C) pandemic emergency unemployment compensation
                under section 2107(a)(2) of the CARES Act (15 U.S.C.
                9025(a)(2)).
            (2) Improper payment.--The term ``improper payment'' means
        any amount of a pandemic unemployment payment to which the
        individual is not entitled.
            (3) State; state agency; state law.--The terms ``State'',
        ``State agency'', and ``State law'' have the meanings given
        those terms in section 205 of the Federal-State Extended
        Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970 (26 U.S.C. 3304 note).

SEC. 3. EXTENSION OF THE STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS FOR PANDEMIC
              UNEMPLOYMENT FRAUD BY INDIVIDUALS UNDER CERTAIN
              UNEMPLOYMENT PROGRAMS.

    (a) Pandemic Unemployment Assistance.--Section 2102 of the CARES
Act (15 U.S.C. 9021) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsection (h) as subsection (i); and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (g) the following new
        subsection:
    ``(h) Statute of Limitations.--
            ``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of
        law and subject to paragraph (2), any criminal prosecution or
        civil enforcement action for a violation of, or conspiracy to
        violate, section 371, 641, 1028A, 1029, 1341, 1343, 1344, 1349,
        1956, or 1957 of title 18, United States Code, or section 3729
        or 3802 of title 31, United States Code, with respect to any
        unemployment compensation claim funded in whole or in part by
        pandemic unemployment assistance under this section shall be
        brought not later than 10 years after the date of the violation
        or conspiracy.
            ``(2) Exception.--Paragraph (1) shall not apply with
        respect to a criminal prosecution or civil enforcement action
        if the statute of limitations applicable to such criminal
        prosecution or civil enforcement action expired prior to the
        date of enactment of the Recover COVID Unemployment Fraud in
        Banks Act.''.
    (b) Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation and Mixed Earner
Unemployment Compensation.--Section 2104(f) of the CARES Act (15 U.S.C.
9023(f)) is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(5) Statute of limitations.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Notwithstanding any other
                provision of law and subject to subparagraph (B), any
                criminal prosecution or civil enforcement action for a
                violation of, or conspiracy to violate, section 371,
                641, 1028A, 1029, 1341, 1343, 1344, 1349, 1956, or 1957
                of title 18, United States Code, or section 3729 or
                3802 of title 31, United States Code, with respect to
                any unemployment compensation claim funded in whole or
                in part by Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation
                or Mixed Earner Unemployment Compensation under this
                section shall be brought not later than 10 years after
                the date of the violation or conspiracy.
                    ``(B) Exception.--Subparagraph (A) shall not apply
                with respect to a criminal prosecution or civil
                enforcement action if the statute of limitations
                applicable to such criminal prosecution or civil
                enforcement action expired prior to the date of
                enactment of the Recover COVID Unemployment Fraud in
                Banks Act.''.
    (c) Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation.--Section 2107(e)
of the CARES Act (15 U.S.C. 9025(e)) is amended by adding at the end
the following new paragraph:
            ``(5) Statute of limitations.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Notwithstanding any other
                provision of law and subject to subparagraph (B), any
                criminal prosecution or civil enforcement action for a
                violation of, or conspiracy to violate, section 371,
                641, 1028A, 1029, 1341, 1343, 1344, 1349, 1956, or 1957
                of title 18, United States Code, or section 3729 or
                3802 of title 31, United States Code, with respect to
                any unemployment compensation claim funded in whole or
                in part by Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation
                under this section shall be brought not later than 10
                years after the date of the violation or conspiracy.
                    ``(B) Exception.--Subparagraph (A) shall not apply
                with respect to a criminal prosecution or civil
                enforcement action if the statute of limitations
                applicable to such criminal prosecution or civil
                enforcement action expired prior to the date of
                enactment of the Recover COVID Unemployment Fraud in
                Banks Act.''.
    (d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by section Act shall take
effect on the date of enactment of this Act.
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