Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Representative Beth Van Duyne (R-TX-24), a member of the Ways and Means Committee celebrated the House passage of H.R. 8873 - Recover COVID Unemployment Fraud in Banks Act. Working with Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO-08) and Representative Tom Suozzi (D-NY-03), the bill has officially passed the House by unanimous consent.

The Recover COVID Unemployment Fraud in Banks Act establishes a federal taskforce, led by a National Recovery Coordinator, to work with applicable state agencies to identify federal pandemic UI payments issued on prepaid debit cards held by financial institutions or transferred to state agencies responsible for unclaimed property. Requires the taskforce to develop model processes that facilitate cost-effective recovery of payments and return them to the federal government. 

“Every dollar going to fraud is a dollar that does not go to Americans who truly need it, and it is not too late to recover stolen unemployment insurance funds. But, Congress must act now,” said Rep. Beth Van Duyne. “The Recover COVID Unemployment Fraud in Banks Act provides the coordination and accountability needed to reclaim these forgotten funds, return them to taxpayers, and ensure fraudsters are held accountable before these dollars become even harder to recover.”

“Americans expect Congress to root out waste, fraud, and abuse in America’s safety net programs, including unemployment insurance for jobless Americans. The Recover COVID Unemployment Fraud in Banks Act is critical to recovering the nearly $1 billion in fraudulent COVID-era unemployment insurance benefits sitting frozen in banks that rightfully belong to taxpayers. Without Congressional action, hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars could be permanently lost to fraud,” said Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith. “Congresswoman Van Duyne has a long history of fighting the fraud epidemic even from her earliest days serving on the Ways and Means Committee, and I applaud her leadership on this effort.”

Click HERE to watch Congresswoman Van Duyne’s floor remarks in support of H.R. 8873.

In the House, U.S. Representative Van Duyne was joined by U.S. Representatives Tom Suozzi (D-NY-03) and Randy Feenstra (R-IA-04) as co-sponsors of the bill. H.R. 8873 was advanced out of the Ways and Means Committee with a vote of 41-0 on May 21, 2026, and passed the House on June 29, 2026.

Click HERE to read the full bill text.

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