Pandemic Unemployment Fraud Enforcement Act

House Bill

H.R. 1156

119th Congress

Pandemic Unemployment Fraud Enforcement Act

Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 29.

Introduced:Feb 10, 2025

Primary Sponsor

Don Bacon

Representative

Republican

NE-2

Cosponsors

25

Quick Stats

Policy Area

Labor and Employment

Summary

This bill extends the statute of limitations for prosecuting pandemic unemployment fraud from 5 to 10 years. It applies to criminal charges and civil enforcement for fraud in COVID-era programs including PUA and federal pandemic unemployment compensation.

Latest Action

Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 29.

SponsorDon Bacon (R-NE)

Introduced2/10/2025

StatusRead the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 29.

ChamberHouse

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Vote Prediction

Pandemic Unemployment Fraud Enforcement Act

This bill extends the statute of limitations for prosecuting pandemic unemployment fraud from 5 to 10 years. It applies to criminal charges and civil enforcement for fraud in COVID-era programs including PUA and federal pandemic unemployment compensation.

Community Breakdown

Pass

0%

Fail

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This bill extends the statute of limitations for prosecuting pandemic unemployment fraud from 5 to 10 years. It applies to criminal charges and civil enforcement for fraud in COVID-era programs including PUA and federal pandemic unemployment compensation.

Bill Number: 1156
Sponsor: Don Bacon (R-NE)
Introduced: 2/10/2025
Status: Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 29.
Policy Area: Labor and Employment

Data from Congress.gov

AI-generated summary

Fact Sheet

Title: Pandemic Unemployment Fraud Enforcement Act
Bill Number: 1156
Sponsor: Don Bacon (R-NE)
Status: Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 29.
Introduced: 2/10/2025
Summary: This bill extends the statute of limitations for prosecuting pandemic unemployment fraud from 5 to 10 years. It applies to criminal charges and civil enforcement for fraud in COVID-era programs including PUA and federal pandemic unemployment compensation.

Data from Congress.gov

AI Summary

Plain-English explanation of this bill

This bill extends the statute of limitations for prosecuting pandemic unemployment fraud from 5 to 10 years. It applies to criminal charges and civil enforcement for fraud in COVID-era programs including PUA and federal pandemic unemployment compensation.

Last updated: 1/5/2026

Official Summary

Congressional Research Service summary

Pandemic Unemployment Fraud Enforcement ActThis bill extends from 5 to 10 years the statute of limitations for federal criminal charges or civil enforcement actions for fraud related to several unemployment insurance programs that were established during the COVID-19 pandemic.  The extension applies to Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation, Mixed Earners Unemployment Compensation, and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation. The bill extends the statute of limitations for (1) criminal charges related to fraud, including aggravated identity theft, wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit fraud; and (2) civil actions involving false claims. However, the bill does not apply to a criminal prosecution or civil enforcement action if the applicable statute of limitations expired before the date of the bill's enactment.Additionally, the bill rescinds specified unobligated funds that were provided in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 to the Department of Labor for anti-fraud and program integrity activities.

Key Points

Main provisions of the bill

Doubles fraud prosecution deadline to 10 years
Covers pandemic unemployment programs
Applies to wire fraud, identity theft, false claims
Does not affect already-expired cases
Rescinds some DOL anti-fraud funding

How This Impacts Americans

Potential effects on citizens and communities

Prosecutors would have more time to pursue criminals who stole billions through fraudulent pandemic unemployment claims. The extended deadline gives investigators additional years to build cases against fraud rings that exploited emergency programs.

Policy Areas

Primary Policy Area

Labor and Employment

Related Subjects

Cardiovascular and respiratory health

Emergency medical services and trauma care

Fraud offenses and financial crimes

Infectious and parasitic diseases

State and local finance

Unemployment

Scope & Jurisdiction

Jurisdiction Level

federal

Congressional Session

119th Congress

Citation Reference

1156, 119th Congress (2025). "Pandemic Unemployment Fraud Enforcement Act". Source: Voter's Right Platform. https://votersright.org/bills/118-hr-1156

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