U.S. Rep. Aaron Bean, R-Fla., introduced a bill this week “to investigate fraud within the Small Business Administration’s COVID-19 pandemic relief programs,” and it has already cleared a committee hurdle.
Bean brought out the “PPP/EIDL Fraud Report Act,” which the Northeast Florida congressman dubs the “We Want Our Money Back Act,” this week. 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 on Tuesday.
“The American people want oversight over a runaway, unaccountable bureaucracy. As the Inspector General continues following the tens of thousands of investigative leads of alleged fraud, waste, and abuse of taxpayer resources, it is important for Congress to track the extent of the fraud and the progress in resolving ongoing cases,” said Bean. With the passage of this bill, we are one step closer to accountability.”
So far, there is no companion measure over in the U.S. Senate.
