We Want Our Money Back Act
Strengthening SBA Pandemic Fraud Investigations
WASHINGTON—Congressman Aaron Bean’s (FL-04) bill to investigate fraud within the Small Business Administration’s COVID-19 pandemic relief programs unanimously passed the House Small Business Committee. The PPP/EIDL Fraud Report Act of 2023 otherwise known as the “We Want Our Money Back Act” 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.
Congressman Bean introduced this anti-fraud legislation 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 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 Congressman Bean. With the passage of this bill, we are one step closer to accountability.”
Watch Congressman Bean’s remarks in today’s Small Business Committee markup on the bill HERE.
BACKGROUND:
A recent report from the OIG, reports that of the more than 250,000 OIG Hotline complaints since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 90,000 are possible cases of fraud. This represents 100 years of investigative case work.
Read the full report HERE.
Read full bill text HERE.
###