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Palmer Legislation Seeks Fraud Reduction in Pandemic Unemployment Assistance

September 17, 2020

For Immediate Release
Media Contact: Elizabeth Hance (202) 225-4921

Palmer Legislation Seeks Fraud Reduction in Pandemic Unemployment Assistance

Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Gary Palmer (AL-06) introduced the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Integrity Act (H.R. 8284), which aims to decrease fraud and improper payments within Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), a program created by the CARES Act for independent contractors, the self-employed, and others not typically eligible for benefits. H.R. 8284 would require individuals to submit documentation verifying employment in order to receive PUA benefits. Congressman Palmer released the following statement:

"As it stands, the PUA program only requires applicants to self-certify that they have lost income due to COVID-19 to receive benefits, which has resulted in widespread fraud," Palmer said. "My bill aims to correct that by requiring verification. It is important that individuals struggling with the economic fallout of the pandemic have the resources to weather the storm, but we must ensure that only those eligible are receiving benefits. These are common sense measures that would guard valuable taxpayer dollars from waste and improper use.

The Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Integrity Act was introduced today as companion legislation to S. 4275, introduced by Senator John Thune of South Dakota.

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