House Ways and Means Committee Chair Calls for Probe Into ‘$60 Billion’ in Fake COVID-19 Unemployment Claims

People line up outside Kentucky Career Center prior to its opening to find assistance with their unemployment claims in Frankfort, Ky., on June 18, 2020. Bryan Woolston/Reuters

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-Mo.) is calling for an investigation into the “historic theft of taxpayer dollars from COVID-era unemployment programs” after a report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that as much as $60 billion may have been spent on fraudulent claims for unemployment insurance during the pandemic.

The report, released on Jan. 23, said that the Department of Labor (DOL) stated that about $878 billion in total unemployment benefits were paid from April 2020 through September 2022.