In an effort to continue efforts to track down those who defrauded the government of COVID relief funds, a coalition of lawmakers has introduced legislation to extend the authority of the Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery (SIGPR).
The legislation, the Complete COVID Collections Act, introduced by U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IO) and several of her Republican colleagues, would extend SIGPR’s authorization through 2030 as well as expand its jurisdiction to cover other Small Business Administration COVID-related programs. The legislation would allow the agency to continue efforts to track down those who stole more than $200 billion in COVID relief money, Ernst said.
“Con artists took advantage of small businesses’ pain during COVID to defraud government programs designed to help hardworking Americans,” Ernst said. “While we are $36 trillion in debt, we especially cannot afford to leave more than $200 billion floating around, especially in the hands of fraudsters. My Republican colleagues and I are making sure that all resources are available in this fight to get taxpayers’ money back and hold these criminals accountable.”
The legislation would prohibit the suspension on COVID loans, according to information from the Congressional Record. However, no information about the bill’s text was available. The bill has been forwarded to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.
Ernst office said the SBA relief programs operated on a “first come, first served” basis, but the money for relief quickly ran out with many qualifying businesses turned away as fraudsters received funds. Ernst office alleges that some fraudulent applicants included pictures of Barbie dolls as photo identification, while legitimate struggling businesses were left empty-handed.
In her report, Small Business COVID-19 Fraud: Three Years Later State of Play, Ernst outlined the extent of the fraud. Efforts to recover billions in COVID aid fraudulently obtained began in January 2024.
The legislation was co-sponsored by U.S. Sens. Todd Young (R-IN), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), James Lankford (R-OK), and John Curtis (R-UT).