[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 98 (Wednesday, June 8, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E599]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         COVID-19 EIDL FRAUD STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS ACT OF 2022

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 7, 2022

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Speaker, I stand in support of H.R. 7334, the 
``COVID-19 EIDL Fraud Statute of Limitations Act of 2022,'' to 
establish a 10-year timeframe during which those who defrauded the 
government in unlawful receipt of Economic Injury Disaster Loans can be 
brought to justice.
  The COVID-19 pandemic has robbed our nation of over one million 
souls.
  It has taken from us mothers and fathers, children and siblings, 
friends and neighbors.
  For every tragic death there are countless others for whom the world 
now holds a space that can never be filled.
  When the pandemic first arrived on our soil, Congress acted quickly 
to provide Economic Injury Disaster Loans to small businesses across 
the country.
  Thanks to these loans--in the face of fear, loss, and uncertainty--
our nation's business owners kept their doors open.
  They provided meals, manufactured PPE, served in non-profits, and 
safeguarded the color, culture, and economic security of America's 
towns and cities.
  While struggling with their own losses, hardships, and grief these 
small business owners supported their employees and their communities.
  Through our EIDL funding they kept our nation running.
  To imagine that some would take advantage of the necessary relief 
provided by our government for self-serving gains is abhorrent and 
shameful.
  In New York City, one man defrauded the American taxpayers of over 
$180,000 in Economic Injury Disaster Relief funds--and spent it at Saks 
Fifth Avenue.
  A couple in Connecticut used the relief not to keep their hair salon 
open or pay employees--but to buy investment properties in Florida.
  One man, right here in Washington D.C. stole money that should have 
been used to keep our small businesses afloat and instead bankrolled 
his own yacht and million dollar row house.
  While millions of people were dying across the country these people 
chose to look out for their own self-interest.
  Today, we hold them accountable to the law and to the American 
people.
  That is why I place my support behind the addition of a 10-year 
statute of limitations for criminal and civil charges against COVID-19 
Economic Injury Disaster Loans fraud.
  We owe it to those who did right by their businesses, their 
employees, and their community.
  We owe it to the American people.
  Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in voting for H.R. 
7334 to ensure that anyone who wrongfully abused small business COVID 
relief be held accountable.

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