Congressman Yakym pushes for accountability on rampant unemployment fraud

Friday, February 7, 2025 at 6:00 PM

Yesterday, Congressman Rudy Yakym (IN-02) participated in his first Work and Welfare Subcommittee hearing. The hearing focused on prosecuting fraudsters for stealing billions in unemployment benefits from American workers.

Congressman Yakym began his remarks by sharing startling figures that pandemic unemployment fraud totaled approximately $135 billion dollars, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO).

Congressman Yakym stressed the importance of extending the deadline for prosecuting these cases, "despite these eye-popping fraud numbers, we've only recovered $5 billion of it - less than 4% of fraudulent payments. The statute of limitations to prosecute these cases expires at the end of March. Congress must extend that deadline so we can continue unwinding these criminal rings and hold fraudsters accountable."

Congressman Yakym focused his line of questioning on the astronomical number of unemployment fraud cases that remain open within the federal government. He emphasized that with additional time, we will be able recoup funds and recover taxpayer dollars.

Watch Congressman Yakym's full line of questioning and remarks HERE.