Message on Senate action sent to the House.
This bill gives the government more time to catch and punish people who committed fraud in two pandemic relief programs: one that gave grants to shuttered entertainment venues, and one that gave grants to struggling restaurants. It extends the deadline for bringing fraud cases from the current 5 years to 10 years, and it requires the Department of Justice to report to Congress every 90 days on how many fraud cases it is pursuing.
Roughly $45 billion went out through two pandemic grant programs for restaurants and entertainment venues, and some of that money was stolen. This bill doubles the time prosecutors have to catch and charge people who committed fraud, meaning more stolen taxpayer dollars could be recovered.