[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 120 (Wednesday, July 22, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4218-S4219]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



             Assisting Small Businesses Not Fraudsters Act

  Mr. President, you see, over 1.2 million Hoosiers are employed by 
small businesses. As you look across our Nation, small businesses are 
the backbone of our modern economy. In fact, the way to grow an economy 
is to figure out how to get more people to start businesses and to grow 
those small businesses into larger businesses. Our Federal small 
business programs exist for that purpose--to help hard-working 
entrepreneurs grow their businesses and to create more jobs.
  They don't exist to reward those who have defrauded taxpayers. That 
is not why they exist. Unfortunately, during the COVID pandemic, some 
individuals exploited emergency Small Business Administration relief 
programs for personal gain. Their actions diverted resources away from 
legitimate small businesses in Indiana and across the country. They 
undermine confidence in these important programs, and they undermine 
confidence in government at a time when confidence is already low.
  The principle behind my bill is quite simple. If someone is convicted 
of defrauding the Small Business Administration through certain COVID-
era loan or grant programs, then that individual should not be eligible 
to receive future financial assistance from the Small Business 
Administration. It is that simple. They should not be eligible if they 
are a fraudster. Likewise, businesses controlled by those who are 
convicted shouldn't be eligible for future SBA assistance.
  This is the essence of the Assisting Small Businesses Not Fraudsters 
Act. It should not be--I would imagine it is not--controversial. This 
is something everyone should enthusiastically support. I would add that 
this bill only applies after a criminal conviction in order to ensure 
due process.
  Honest, hard-working entrepreneurs and small business owners 
shouldn't have to compete with convicted fraudsters for Federal 
opportunities. Every taxpayer dollar lost to fraud is a dollar that 
cannot help legitimate small businesses expand, hire workers, or invest 
in their futures.
  Chair Ernst's Protecting American Taxpayers Act advances that same 
goal across government by strengthening accountability, protecting 
taxpayer dollars, and ensuring Federal programs work as intended.
  I urge all of my colleagues to support this package and my Assisting 
Small Businesses Not Fraudsters Act.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Indiana.
  Mr. YOUNG. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. MARSHALL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. MARSHALL. Mr. President, just 2 years ago, we were a land of open 
borders, crime was surging across the country, and fraud was rampant. 
But today, the borders are secure; crime,

[[Page S4219]]

murder rates--a 100-year low; and fraudsters are going to jail. That is 
why today I am rising to support the Protecting American Taxpayers Act.
  For years, Washington accepted fraud as the cost of doing business. 
The government wrote the checks, the fraudsters cashed them, and hard-
working Americans were left to foot the bill. Those same hard-working 
Americans knew intuitively that was driving up their cost of living.
  But those days are coming to an end. Under President Trump, we have 
seen historic momentum to root out waste, fraud, and abuse across the 
Federal Government. For the first time in a long time, Washington is 
shining a flashlight on the billions of taxpayer dollars disappearing 
through fraud, improper payments, and outright criminal activity. Now 
Congress has the responsibility to finish the job.
  The American people are asking a simple question: If Washington knows 
where the fraud is, why aren't we stopping it? And they are right to 
ask. Today, an estimated $1.4 billion is stolen from taxpayers every 
single day. That is money that should be strengthening our military, 
supporting our veterans, protecting Medicare and Social Security, or 
reducing the debt we are leaving to our children and our grandchildren. 
Instead, it is ending up in the hands of organized fraud rings, scam 
artists, and criminals who have learned exactly where the holes in our 
Federal Government are.
  We are already seeing what happens when the Federal Government makes 
fraud enforcement a priority. In one of the largest healthcare fraud 
takedowns in our Nation's history, Federal prosecutors charged hundreds 
of defendants accused of submitting more than $6 billion in fraudulent 
claims to Medicare, Medicaid, and other taxpayer-funded health 
programs. And the best part? People are finally going to jail.
  Investigators uncovered transnational criminal organizations, 
fraudulent medical equipment schemes, and providers accused of billing 
the government for services that were never provided. These weren't 
bookkeeping mistakes; they were sophisticated efforts to steal billions 
from the American taxpayer.
  The truth is simple: Fraudsters follow the money, and for too long, 
Washington has rolled out the welcome mat. This legislation finally 
starts closing that door. The Protecting American Taxpayers Act is 
projected to save taxpayers $240 billion--that is $240 billion--by 
preventing fraud before it happens, recovering stolen taxpayer dollars, 
and ensuring criminals are held accountable. It doesn't just respond to 
fraud after the fact; it helps stop it before another billion dollars 
walks out the door.
  One piece of this package that I am proud to see included is my WALZ 
Act--W-A-L-Z, the WALZ Act--named after, you guessed it, a certain 
Governor who allowed fraud to run rampant in his State. The idea behind 
it is about as simple as it gets: Don't pay first and ask questions 
later. Kansas families don't do business that way. Small businesses 
don't do business that way. If you are remodeling your kitchen, you 
don't hand the contractor every penny before a single cabinet is 
installed. If you are hiring someone to fix your roof, you don't write 
the check before the work is finished. You pay after the job is done.
  Yet that is exactly the opposite of how Washington has too often 
operated. For years, the Federal Government has pushed billions of 
dollars out the door up front with little accountability and then acted 
surprised when criminals disappeared with the money.
  My WALZ Act simply says: Federal payments should be made as 
reimbursements after--after--the services have actually been provided. 
That one simple reform closes one of the biggest loopholes that have 
allowed billions of taxpayer dollars to be stolen before they ever get 
the chance to disappear.
  But this package doesn't stop there. It claws back unused COVID 
funds, strengthens Treasury's fraud detection systems, extends the 
statute of limitations so pandemic fraudsters can't simply run out the 
clock. It protects our veterans from scammers. It combats emerging AI-
generated fraud and gives law enforcement stronger tools to hold 
criminals accountable. Taken together, these reforms represent one of 
the strongest anti-fraud packages Congress has considered in years.
  My colleagues on the other side of the aisle spent years responding 
to every problem the same way: throwing more money at it. We believe 
the first question should be: Where is the fraud? Where is the waste? 
Where is the abuse? And how do we stop it before asking taxpayers for 
another dime?
  This administration has created real momentum for the first time in 
years. We are not just talking about fraud, we are finding it, 
prosecuting it, and putting criminals on notice that stealing from the 
American taxpayer has consequences. People are already being held 
accountable, and more need to be.
  Congress should build on that momentum by giving law enforcement and 
Federal Agencies the tools they need to keep fraudsters out of our 
programs and behind bars where they belong.
  So let's not waste this opportunity. Let's make these reforms 
permanent. Let's close the loopholes once and for all. Let's protect 
the taxpayers who fund the government. Let's send a clear message that 
the era of easy money for fraudsters is over.
  I urge every one of our colleagues to support the Protecting American 
Taxpayers Act.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Moreno). The Senator from Louisiana.