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WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans are unveiling a suite of 16 bills aimed at rooting out fraud, which they believe can save taxpayers some $240 billion, The Post has learned.
The bundle of legislation, dubbed the Protecting American Taxpayers Act, spearheaded by Senate DOGE Caucus Chair Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), is part of a collaboration by GOP lawmakers that kicked into gear earlier this year in the wake of the Minnesota fraud scandal.
Over the past four months, GOP lawmakers brainstormed ways to recover stolen money, stop federal funds from getting funneled overseas, impose stronger safeguards on government spending, and target fraudsters.
“Many politicians and lenient, liberal judges look the other way while criminals steal more than $1 billion from taxpayers every day,” Ernst told The Post.
“The Protecting American Taxpayers Act not only stops fraud before it happens and holds those responsible accountable, but it returns stolen dollars to taxpayers.”
After the Minnesota fraud scandal blew up, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SC) tapped Ernst to build consensus among Republicans for a bundle of anti-fraud measures that they can bring to the floor for a vote.
While it’s not guaranteed to pass, the goal is to get Republicans on the same page and put pressure on Democrats over the fraud issue.
“This overdue legislation will soon be brought to a vote to put every senator on the record on whether they stand with swindlers or taxpayers,” the Hawkeye State Republican added.
While the exact scale of fraud afflicting the federal government is difficult to measure, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) estimated that between $233 billion and $521 billion of federal dollars were lost to fraud between 2018 and 2022.
It also found that there were over $2.8 trillion worth of improper payments since fiscal year 2023.
One of the measures in the legislative bundle is aimed at giving lawmakers more data on improper federal payments so that Congress can crack down on them.
The Protecting American Taxpayers Act includes a range of actions, such as creating a task force to examine deep fake fraud, extending the statute of limitations to prosecute COVID-19-related crimes, blocking funds from going to countries subject to US arms embargoes or travel bans, and modernizing the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program.
To recover funds stolen by fraud, the legislation enacts policies such as restricting payments from being made until a service is provided, rescinding some $65 billion in unspent COVID-19 funds, giving bonuses to watchdog employees who catch fraud, and cutting off convicted fraudsters from Small Business Administration assistance.
The legislative bundles also require the Treasury to provide more details and cross-check outlays, restrict individuals who receive government assistance from wiring money abroad, and beef up whistleblower protections
Lawmakers involved with helping craft the legislative bundle include Sens. Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Ashley Moody (R-Fla.), Jim Banks (R-Ind.) Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio), Tim Sheey (R-Mont.), Dave McCormick (R-Pa.), Todd Young (R-Ind.), and Jon Husted (R-Ohio).
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