HR-8873 — Recover COVID Unemployment Fraud in Banks Act

YourVoice.Now Summary

Civil Liberties

Creates a national coordinator and task force to claw back unclaimed pandemic unemployment money sitting with banks and return it to the government.

Civil Liberties

Statute of limitations — Extended to 10 years for pandemic unemployment fraud prosecutions and civil claims

The details

Millions of dollars in pandemic-era unemployment benefits sent out on prepaid debit cards were never claimed by the workers they were meant for, and some of that money ended up sitting with banks or with state unclaimed-property offices instead. This bill sets up a National Recovery Coordinator and a task force — including the Attorney General, Secretary of Labor, and other federal officials — to identify those funds and create a standard process for returning them to the government. Banks and state agencies holding the money would get official guidance on how to send it back, and people whose identities were stolen to file fraudulent unemployment claims would receive information about resources to help them. The bill also extends the deadline for prosecuting or suing over pandemic unemployment fraud to 10 years after the violation occurred, and states would be reimbursed for the administrative costs of taking part.

Congressional Summary

Recover COVID Unemployment Fraud in Banks ActThis bill extends to 10 years the statute of limitations for federal criminal charges or civil enforcement actions for fraud related to several unemployment insurance programs that were established during the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill also establishes a task force to locate fraudulent payments and develop strategies to recover such payments.The extension applies to Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation, Mixed Earners Unemployment Compensation, and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation. The bill extends the statute of limitations for (1) criminal charges related to fraud, including aggravated identity theft, wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit fraud (currently subject to a 5-year statute of limitations); and (2) civil actions involving false claims (currently subject to a 6-year statute of limitations). However, the bill does not apply to a criminal prosecution or civil enforcement action if the applicable statute of limitations expired before the date of the bill's enactment.The task force established by this bill mustcoordinate with state agencies to identify federal pandemic unemployment compensation payments held by financial institutions and other entities or held by state agencies responsible for unclaimed property, coordinate with federal agencies to develop model processes that result in the cost-effective recovery of such payments,issue guidance to financial institutions on legal pathways for returning such payments, andissue guidance to state unclaimed property agencies on their obligation to review and return such payments.

Legislative Subjects

Advisory bodiesCardiovascular and respiratory healthEmergency medical services and trauma careFraud offenses and financial crimesGovernment studies and investigationsInfectious and parasitic diseasesIntergovernmental relationsState and local financeState and local government operationsUnemployment

Details

Congress: 119th
Chamber: House
Status: summarized
Action: Reported to House
Action Date: 2026-05-29
Date Added: 2026-06-25
Source: Congress.gov →

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