NE Florida News

WASHINGTON—The U.S. House of Representatives has unanimously passed the PPP/EIDL Fraud Report Act of 2023, also known as the We Want Our Money Back Act. The bill, introduced by U.S. Congressman Aaron Bean (FL-04) and U.S. Congressman Kweisi Mfume (MD-07), requires the Inspector General of the Small Business Administration (SBA) to provide quarterly updates to Congress on the ongoing investigations into fraud related to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL).

The need for this legislation arose after the SBA's Office of the Inspector General (OIG) discovered $200 billion in potentially fraudulent COVID-19 EIDLs and PPP loans. Congressman Bean expressed his satisfaction with the unanimous vote, stating, "This is a major first step towards restoring the $200 billion stolen from American taxpayers under the watch of the Small Business Administration. I am pleased the House voted unanimously to hold the SBA accountable and strengthen pandemic fraud investigations."

Congressman Mfume, who co-led the bill with Congressman Bean, emphasized the importance of returning the stolen funds to the federal government and bringing white-collar criminals to justice. He stated, "I am pleased to co-lead this bill with Congressman Aaron Bean, my colleague from Florida, to ensure Congress receives consistent reporting towards our goal of returning billions in stolen pandemic funds to the federal government and bringing white-collar criminals to justice."

The bipartisan legislation aims to address the extensive fraud that has taken place during the COVID-19 pandemic. A recent report from the OIG revealed that out of the more than 250,000 OIG Hotline complaints since the start of the pandemic, over 90,000 are possible cases of fraud. This represents a significant amount of investigative work, equivalent to 100 years of case work.

With the passage of this bill, Congress will be able to track the extent of the fraud and monitor the progress in resolving the thousands of investigative leads related to alleged fraud, waste, and abuse of taxpayer resources. Congressman Bean urged his colleagues in the Senate to quickly pass this critical legislation.

The full report from the OIG can be accessed [HERE](link to the report), and the complete text of the bill is available [HERE](link to the bill text).

In conclusion, the unanimous House passage of the PPP/EIDL Fraud Report Act of 2023 signifies a significant step in combating fraud related to the PPP and EIDL programs. This legislation will ensure that Congress remains informed about the ongoing investigations into fraud and will help in the recovery of the $200 billion stolen from American taxpayers. The bill now awaits consideration in the Senate, where its swift passage is encouraged to further strengthen the efforts in combating pandemic-related fraud.

For additional details, please follow this link: https://bean.house.gov/media/press-releases/bean-announces-unanimous-house-passage-legislation-strengthening-sba-pandemic