H.R. 8873 · 119th Congress

Recover COVID Unemployment Fraud in Banks Act

Introduced on May 19, 2026 by Beth Van Duyne (R-TX-24). 2 cosponsors, 1 of them from another party. Latest action (Jul 13, 2026): Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

Stage
Passed one chamber
Introduced
May 19, 2026
Cosponsors
2
1 from the other party
Policy area
Finance and Financial Sector
Open in the Congress explorerCongress.govAlert me

Progress

The furthest stage the measure reached. Simple and concurrent resolutions do not go to the President.

  1. Introduced
  2. Reported by committee
  3. Passed one chamber
  4. 4Passed both chambers
  5. 5Sent to the President
  6. 6Became law

Official title

To recover unclaimed pandemic-era unemployment compensation funds held by financial institutions or escheated to State unclaimed property administrators, and for other purposes.

Subjects

  • Advisory bodies
  • Cardiovascular and respiratory health
  • Emergency medical services and trauma care
  • Fraud offenses and financial crimes
  • Government studies and investigations
  • Infectious and parasitic diseases
  • Intergovernmental relations
  • State and local finance
  • State and local government operations
  • Unemployment

Summary

By the Congressional Research Service (Reported to House, May 29, 2026). Public domain.

Recover COVID Unemployment Fraud in Banks Act

This bill extends to 10 years the statute of limitations for federal criminal charges or civil enforcement actions for fraud related to several unemployment insurance programs that were established during the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill also establishes a task force to locate fraudulent payments and develop strategies to recover such payments.

The extension applies to Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation, Mixed Earners Unemployment Compensation, and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation. The bill extends the statute of limitations for (1) criminal charges related to fraud, including aggravated identity theft, wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit fraud (currently subject to a 5-year statute of limitations); and (2) civil actions involving false claims (currently subject to a 6-year statute of limitations). However, the bill does not apply to a criminal prosecution or civil enforcement action if the applicable statute of limitations expired before the date of the bill's enactment.

The task force established by this bill must

  • coordinate with state agencies to identify federal pandemic unemployment compensation payments held by financial institutions and other entities or held by state agencies responsible for unclaimed property,
  • coordinate with federal agencies to develop model processes that result in the cost-effective recovery of such payments,
  • issue guidance to financial institutions on legal pathways for returning such payments, and
  • issue guidance to state unclaimed property agencies on their obligation to review and return such payments.

Sponsor and cosponsors

Cosponsors by party as of the day they signed on. Original cosponsors signed on the day of introduction.

Beth Van DuyneR-TX-24Sponsor

Democrats · 1

Republicans · 1

Roll calls

Recorded votes on the measure. Most measures move by voice vote or unanimous consent, which record no individual positions.

No recorded roll call on this measure: it moved by voice vote or unanimous consent, or has not reached the floor.

History

Every action as published, oldest first. Roll calls link to how each member voted.

  1. May 19, 2026Introduced in House
  2. May 19, 2026Introduced in House
  3. May 19, 2026 · HouseReferred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
  4. May 21, 2026 · HouseCommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
  5. May 21, 2026 · HouseOrdered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute by the Yeas and Nays: 41 - 0.
  6. May 29, 2026Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Ways and Means. H. Rept. 119-671.
  7. May 29, 2026 · HouseReported (Amended) by the Committee on Ways and Means. H. Rept. 119-671.
  8. May 29, 2026 · HousePlaced on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 585.
  9. Jun 29, 2026 · HouseMr. Smith (MO) moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
  10. Jun 29, 2026 · HouseConsidered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H4269-4272)
  11. Jun 29, 2026 · HouseDEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 8873.
  12. Jun 29, 2026Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H4269-4270)
  13. Jun 29, 2026 · HouseOn motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H4269-4270)
  14. Jun 29, 2026 · HouseMotion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
  15. Jul 13, 2026 · SenateReceived in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

Committees

Committees and subcommittees the measure was referred to.

Agencies in its committees' jurisdiction

Analisa's mapping of committee jurisdiction to federal agencies; the bill may touch others, or none of these.

Who lobbied on it

Organizations whose lobbying reports (LD-2) name this measure. Spending is what they reported for those quarters on all issues, not on this measure alone.

  1. SMALL BUSINESS & ENTREPRENEURSHIP COUNCIL (SBE COUNCIL)1 report
    $45K reported (all issues)
  2. Service Employees International Union CTW-CLC1 report
    $255K reported (all issues)

Reports filed in 2025, 2026.

Sources and method

Every figure on this page traces to these records.

  • Bill status: bills and resolutions, sponsors, actions, subjects and CRS summaries (U.S. Government Publishing Office (GovInfo), from Congress.gov (Library of Congress))GovInfo Bill Status bulk data (Congress.gov; summaries by the Congressional Research Service) · data current to Oct 7, 2026 · loaded Oct 7, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Members of Congress, their terms, committees and identifiers (The @unitedstates project (from the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress, the House and the Senate))unitedstates/congress-legislators: legislators, committees and current committee membership · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: CC0 1.0 (public domain dedication)
  • House roll-call votes (Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives)Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, roll-call vote records · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Senate roll-call votes and DW-NOMINATE scores (Voteview (UCLA Department of Political Science))Lewis, Jeffrey B., Keith Poole, Howard Rosenthal, Adam Boche, Aaron Rudkin, and Luke Sonnet (2026). Voteview: Congressional Roll-Call Votes Database. https://voteview.com/ · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Free to use with the required citation
  • Lobbying disclosures (LD-1 registrations, LD-2 quarterly reports, LD-203 contribution reports) (Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives)Clerk of the House, Lobbying Disclosure Act filings (organizations only; lobbyists' names are not loaded) · data current to Oct 7, 2026 · loaded Oct 7, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Positions are shown only where a roll call recorded them; voice votes and unanimous consent record none.
  • Money and votes are shown side by side; neither explains the other.