The scale of pandemic benefit fraud is massive. But worst of all, it may have benefited our adversaries.
Senior House Republicans promised more aggressive oversight of pandemic benefit fraud if they won a majority in the midterm elections. There is plenty to do, evidenced by recent media reports that $600 billion may have been ripped off. And even that could prove to be an underestimate.Experts suggest much of that was stolen by overseas criminal gangs, including in Russia and China. Taxpayers deserve to know the truth about pandemic fraud, including whether Russians might have stolen more from U.
The degree of unemployment benefit misspending alone is staggering. The Department of Labor inspector general in March testified that “at least” $163 billion “could have been paid improperly, with a significant portion attributable to fraud.” That was based on an estimated 18.7% error rate, which doesn’t include elevated misspending under Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, the most abused program.
Additional billions were misspent on food stamps and pandemic food aid, including $250 million in a single Minnesota fraud case, housing assistance, healthcare, stimulus checks, disability benefits, and much more. Add it all up, and a New York Post op-ed headlined “$600 billion was stolen from the American people” starts to sound conservative.
A July resolution introduced by the late Rep. Jackie Walorski seeks clarity on how much foreign criminals stole. It directs the secretary of the Labor Department to provide Congress all documents related to unemployment benefits that flowed to “criminal syndicates and fraudsters in foreign countries,” including in Russia and China. Like Brady’s bill, her resolution has been rejected by the majority.
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