{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.crapo.senate.gov/media/newsreleases/crapo-smith-seek-basic-information-on-labor-departments-fund-to-combat-unemployment-insurance-fraud", "Crapo, Smith Seek Basic Information on Labor Department\u2019s Fund to Combat Unemployment Insurance Fraud", "2023-07-20", "2023", "2023-07", "Republican", "Senate", "ID", "Mike Crapo", "C000880", "www.crapo.senate.gov", "crapo", "https://www.crapo.senate.gov/media/newsreleases", "scraper", "Washington, D.C.-- U.S. Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and U.S. House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-Missouri) are asking the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) for a detailed accounting of how it has utilized the $2 billion initially awarded to it under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to supposedly help prevent unemployment insurance (UI) fraud. The members note that while the DOL\u2019s Inspector General has estimated taxpayers are on the hook for at least $191 billion in misspent pandemic UI funds, the funding allocated to combat fraud and prevent further taxpayer dollars from being misspent lacks critical metrics, with vague goals and no timeline for obligating funds.\n\nFrom the letter:\n\nWe write to express serious concerns about the lack of transparency in how the funds have been spent, including diversion of taxpayer dollars for \u201cpromoting equity\u201d, and specifically how the Department prioritized use of these critical funds for fraud prevention, identification, and recovery.\n\nMore than two years have passed, and, to date, the Department has yet to provide adequate explanation as to how this money has been used or any results of the Department\u2019s efforts to fight fraud. In fact, the Department reports having recovered less than $5 billion in fraudulent pandemic unemployment payments.\n\nCrapo and Smith request that DOL provide basic information on how the money has been spent; the progress being made on the UI projects funded via ARPA at the state level; and DOL\u2019s oversight of the contractors administering the funds, among other information.\n\nRead the full letter here or below:\n\nActing Secretary Su:\n\nIt is the responsibility of our respective Committees to provide proper oversight of the unemployment insurance (UI) program and ensure the program is operating effectively, efficiently, and as intended. During the COVID-19 pandemic, fraudsters and other bad actors exploited a system already susceptible to misuse and high rates of improper payments. According to the U.S. Department (\u201cthe Department\u2019) of Labor\u2019s own Inspector General, taxpayers are now on the hook for at least $191 billion in misspent pandemic UI funds.\n\nWe acted with our bill the Protecting Taxpayers and Victims of Unemployment Fraud Act (H.R.1163 / S.1587), which passed the U.S. House of Representatives in May with bipartisan votes, to help recover taxpayer dollars lost to fraud and improve the integrity of the UI program.\n\nFor their part, Congressional Democrats are quick to point to $2 billion provided in Section 9032 of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to the Department to help prevent UI fraud. However, the law\u2019s stated statutory goals for those funds are wide ranging: (1) improve access to unemployment insurance, (2) promote equity, and (3) prevent fraud. This shows a clear lack in prioritizing combatting fraud and leaves significant discretion to the Department.\n\nWe write to express serious concerns about the lack of transparency in how the funds have been spent, including diversion of taxpayer dollars for \u201cpromoting equity\u201d, and specifically how the Department prioritized use of these critical funds for fraud prevention, identification, and recovery.\n\nMore than two years have passed, and, to date, the Department has yet to provide adequate explanation as to how this money has been used or any results of the Department\u2019s efforts to fight fraud. In fact, the Department reports having recovered less than $5 billion in fraudulent pandemic unemployment payments.\n\nSince receiving ARPA funds, the Department has made significant contract and grant announcements without providing details, progress, or implementation updates on state projects funded by ARPA. Specifically, in August 2021, the Department announced the availability of up to $200 million in grants for states to implement recommendations made by \u201cTiger Teams.\u201d Following a consultative assessment, these Teams issued a series of recommendations which proposed changes to a state\u2019s UI system that relate to the three statutory factors of Section 9032. States were then given the opportunity to (1) negotiate with the Department which recommendations to implement, and (2) the ability to apply for ARPA funding to complete implementation of the agreed-upon recommendations.\n\nIn 2021, the Department touted the Tiger Teams initiative as having the ability to \u201cachiev[e] quick wins.\u201d However, nearly two years later, the Department has yet to provide a satisfactory explanation as to how this money has been spent and the progress of the projects being funded.\n\nEven after multiple federal law enforcement agencies raised red flags about the timeliness and acute need for the Department to prioritize and ramp-up anti-fraud efforts, in August 2021, the Department announced the availability of $260 million in \u201cEquity Grants.\u201d According to the Department, these grants were awarded to states to, \u201c[E]nhance awareness and improve delivery of unemployment insurance benefits to help people overcome obstacles to access\u2026streamline instructions, provide translation services, increase staffing and address other accessibility issues in marginalized communities.\u201d It remains unclear why the Department chose to focus on these activities when there was a clear need for urgency in fighting fraud in pandemic UI programs.\n\nIn the President\u2019s proposed FY 2024 budget, the Department claims it is \u201cactively engaged in activities to effectively and efficiently use the [UI] funding provided under the American Rescue Plan Act.\u201d The proper use of a $2 billion fund with vague goals and no timeline for obligating funds suggests the need for additional oversight.\n\nTaxpayers should expect basic accountability on these large, structural investments. To ensure accountability and to assess the accuracy of the assertions regarding the use of these funds made in the Department\u2019s budget, our respective Committees request the following information and documents:\n\nThe balance of Section 9032 funding which remains unobligated;\n\nAll consultative assessments issued by Tiger Teams to states;\n\nA list of all recommendations issued by Tiger Teams, but not agreed to between the Department and states;\n\nA list of all agreed-upon negotiated recommendations issued by Tiger Teams, and any outcome metrics used to prioritize certain recommendations; and\n\nFor each recommendation issued by a Tiger Team;\n\nAny and all Project Synopses for each of the negotiated recommendations;\n\nAny and all status updates on the implementation of that recommendation;\n\nAny project narratives associated with the implementation of Tiger Team recommendations, including ETA 9178-ARPA Quarterly Progress Reports and Quarterly Financial Reports (ETA 9130); and\n\nAny SF 424s submitted in support of any projects listed above.\n\nA description of projects undertaken by each state awarded Equity Grants and the amount of funds provided;\n\nAny project narratives associated with the implementation of Equity Grants recommendations, including ETA 9178-ARPA Quarterly Progress Reports and Quarterly Financial Reports (ETA 9130); and\n\nAny SF 424s submitted in support of any projects listed above.\n\nA description of the Department\u2019s determination of allowable use of funds for states awarded Equity Grants;\n\nOutcome metrics used by states to demonstrate the effectiveness of actions taken to improve program equity and how that relates to identification, recovery, and prevention of fraud;\n\nResults of \u201cbusiness process analysis\u201d activities reported by states that received Equity Grants;\n\nAmount of overpayments recovered from pandemic unemployment programs, with the subset of fraudulent overpayments recovered, including from the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation; and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation programs.\n\nWe request that you provide written responses to these questions no later than Friday, August 11, 2023.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T00:18:03Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.crapo.senate.gov/media/newsreleases/crapo-smith-seek-basic-information-on-labor-departments-fund-to-combat-unemployment-insurance-fraud"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.6771750524640083, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}