Invites government officials to testify; sends letters seeking information on rampant fraud in pandemic unemployment insurance program

January 18, 2023 - WASHINGTON - Last week, House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) announced the committee will hold its first hearing of the 118th Congress to investigate rampant waste of taxpayer dollars in COVID relief programs on Wednesday, February 1 at 10:00 a.m. ET.

“We owe it to Americans to identify how hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars spent under the guise of pandemic relief were lost to waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement. For the past two years, the Biden Administration has allowed fraud to run rampant in federal assistance programs and Democrats in Congress conducted little oversight. That changes with our House Republican majority. Under Republican leadership, the Oversight Committee is returning to its primary duty to root out waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in the federal government and hold President Biden accountable,” said Chairman Comer.

Chairman Comer has invited the following government officials to testify at the hearing:

• The Honorable Michael Horowitz, Chair, Pandemic Response Accountability Committee
• The Honorable Gene Dodaro, Comptroller General, Government Accountability Office
• Roy Dotson, Assistant Special Agent in Charge, National Pandemic Fraud Recovery Coordinator, U.S. Secret Service

Chairman Comer also sent the following letters calling for documents, communications, and information related to tracking of fraud and improper payments in the unemployment insurance programs.

Read the letters here:

• Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Labor
• U.S. Department of Labor Secretary 
• Director of the California Employment Development Department
• Commissioner of the New York State Department of Labor
• Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry Secretary
  
  Source: House Committee on Oversight and Accountability