House committee moves to hold COVID 'fraudsters accountable'
A government watchdog said in a June report that over $200 billion in COVID-19 relief funds were stolen by fraudsters
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FIRST ON FOX: The House Committee on Small Business will begin marking up two bills on Thursday aimed at recovering stolen pandemic funding for small businesses and holding those who stole Paycheck Protection Program funding accountable.
According to the office of House Committee on Small Business Chairman Rep. Roger Williams, R-Texas, the first bill would prohibit those convicted of defrauding any pandemic assistance program from ever taking out a loan from the Small Business Administration in the future.
The second bill, according to his office, requires the SBA to insert a link on their website that goes to the administration's Office of the Inspector General, where people can self-report potential fraud from PPP loans and Economic Injury Disaster Loans.
According to his office, the SBA has a backlog of over 100 years in casework because of the fraud that occurred during the pandemic. Roger's officer argues this gives the SBA the best chance at recuperating funds.
Rep. Roger Williams, R-Texas, arrives for the House vote on Fiscal Responsibility Act, which will raise the debt limit, outside the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, May 31, 2023. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images / Getty Images)
MOBILE USERS: CLICK HERE TO READ THE BILL
MOBILE USERS: CLICK HERE TO READ THE BILL
MORE THAN $200 BILLION IN COVID-19 PANDEMIC RELIEF WASTED, WATCHDOG SAYS
If passed, the link must be visible on the SBA's website within 30 days.
Williams told Fox News Digital that the SBA allowed criminals to take advantage of the system by not implementing protections.
"When COVID-19 hit the United States, the SBA was tasked with taking on an oversized role to help save small businesses and our nation’s job creators. Unfortunately, the SBA failed to properly implement basic guardrails to protect these programs that allowed opportunistic criminals to take advantage of these emergency lending programs," said Chairman Williams. "One of the main goals of this Committee has been to find solutions to recoup the stolen pandemic funds for the taxpayers and hold these fraudsters accountable. These two bills we plan to mark-up on Thursday do exactly that. There’s still more work to be done, but this is a step in the right direction."
GOP DEMANDS ANSWERS ON 'BILLIONS' IN COVID RELIEF AID THAT WENT TO 'INTERNATIONAL' CRIMINALS
People walk through a shuttered business district in Brooklyn on May 12, 2020 in New York City. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images / Getty Images)
The inspector general of the SBA released a June report stating that over $200 billion in COVID-19 relief funds were stolen by fraudsters.
Officials in the report faulted the SBA for removing or weakening controls needed to prevent fraud.
A 'Help Wanted' sign is posted beside Coronavirus safety guidelines in front of a restaurant in Los Angeles, California on May 28, 2021. - Following over a year of restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic, many jobs at restaurants, retail stores (Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
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"In the rush to swiftly disburse COVID-19 EIDL and PPP funds, SBA calibrated its internal controls. The agency weakened or removed the controls necessary to prevent fraudsters from easily gaining access to these programs and provide assurance that only eligible entities received funds," officials wrote. "However, the allure of ‘easy money’ in this pay and chase environment attracted an overwhelming number of fraudsters to the programs."
A spokesperson for the SBA told Fox News Digital that the agency disagrees with the inspector general's report.
"We strongly disagree with the OIG's projected fraud total of $200 billion suggested by the OIG report. It is vital to clarify that 86% of the likely fraud in the PPP and COVID-EIDL programs occurred in the first nine months of those programs when, as the SBA IG has often noted, the rush to get funds out led to unwise decisions to pull down anti-fraud guardrails," the spokesperson said. "SBA strongly believes that the SBA IG significantly over states the degree of even potential fraud under COVID-EIDL by ignoring or discounting COVID-EIDL repayment data."
"The SBA is committed to the highest standards of transparency and methodical analysis, and we will continue to work with OIG and other regulatory bodies to expose fraud and support efforts to bring criminals to justice—efforts which have so far led to the recovery of $30 billion of previously lost funds," the spokesperson added.
Fox News' Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report.