[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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