WASHINGTON, D.C. — Millions of people relied on unemployment benefits during the height of COVID-19. Now, a government report says fraudulent claims total tens of billions of dollars.
During the worst of the pandemic, the government shelled out $4.6 trillion in funds from six different COVID-19 relief laws.
It was a lifeline for many people.
But now, there’s new insight into the fraud associated with unemployment and members of congress are eager for answers.
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Rep. Jody Hice from Georgia is one of them.
“The question is: What’s being done? “We don’t need more meetings. We need action,” Hice said.
The government accountability office which reports to congress agrees.
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The accountability office says the Department of Labor needs to do more to deal with this and develop a more specific strategy to handle fraud before it happens.
The Department of Labor says this is a priority, and they’re already in the process of making more changes.
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