U.S. Rep. Aaron Bean, R-Fla., got his bill “to investigate fraud within the Small Business Administration’s COVID-19 pandemic relief programs” through the full House last week.
Bean brought out the “PPP/EIDL Fraud Report Act,” which the Northeast Florida congressman dubs the “We Want Our Money Back Act,” back in July. U.S. Rep. Kweisi Mfume, D-Mary., is co-sponsoring the bill.
The proposal “requires the Inspector General of the SBA to submit a quarterly report to Congress with updates on the ongoing Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) fraud investigations.” Bean’s office noted he brought out the bill “after the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) discovered $200 billion in potentially fraudulent COVID-19 EIDLs and PPP loans.”
The bill was sent to the U.S. House Small Business Committee, which passed it without opposition over the summer. On Thursday, the House passed the bill on a voice vote with no opposition.
“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,” said Bean. “This vital legislation will ensure Congress can track the extent of the fraud and the progress in resolving the thousands of investigative leads of alleged fraud, waste, and abuse of taxpayer resources. I encourage my colleagues in the Senate to quickly pass this critical legislation.”
“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,” said Mfume.
However, there is no companion measure over in the U.S. Senate.
