# 119-hr-8873: Recover COVID Unemployment Fraud in Banks Act

119-hr-8873, Recover COVID Unemployment Fraud in Banks Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Van Duyne, Beth [R-TX-24] (R-TX); status passed_house; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-09-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-8873
- As of: 2026-09-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-8873
- Congress: 119
- Title: Recover COVID Unemployment Fraud in Banks Act
- Status: passed_house
- Introduced: 2026-05-19
- Sponsor: Rep. Van Duyne, Beth [R-TX-24] (R-TX)
- Cosponsors: 2
- Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-09-21

## Summary

**Recovering improper pandemic unemployment funds held by banks and state unclaimed-property programs.** The Act creates a National Recovery Coordinator at the Department of Labor and a multi-agency Recover Pandemic Unemployment Funds in Banks Task Force to identify, recover, and guide the return of pandemic-era unemployment payments that were improperly paid or obtained by fraud. - Individuals whose identities were fraudulently used receive a model notice and information developed with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The Task Force will also supply information on legal pathways to recover improper payments. - State agencies get help finding payments on prepaid debit cards and in state unclaimed-property systems and receive model processes for cost-effective recovery. The Secretary of Labor must reimburse states for administrative costs of coordinating with the Task Force under CARES Act authorities. - Banks and other financial institutions get guidance, coordinated with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, on returning improper pandemic unemployment payments to the correct state agency and on standardized methods for returning funds to the federal government.

## Cosponsors (2)

- Rep. Suozzi, Thomas R. [D-NY-3] (D-NY), 2026-05-19T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Feenstra, Randy [R-IA-4] (R-IA), 2026-05-21T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Task force to recover pandemic jobless aid: benefit, medium. If enacted, the Labor Department would name a national coordinator and start a task force within 30 days. They would work with states, banks, and unclaimed-property offices to find pandemic unemployment payments on prepaid debit cards or sent to unclaimed property that were improper. The task force…
- Federal help for states' recovery costs: benefit, low. If enacted, the Labor Department would repay states for all admin costs from working with the task force. This would apply when the work is under CARES Act sections 2102, 2104, or 2107 agreements. This would help state budgets. It would not send money to households.

## Related bills

- 119-hr-4669: FEMA Act of 2025
- 119-hr-137: TCJA Permanency Act
- 119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025
- 119-hr-842: Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Act
- 119-hr-3277: Ensuring Lasting Smiles Act
- 119-hr-33: To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide special rules for the taxation of certain residents of Taiwan with income from sources within the United…

## Sources
- [119-hr-8873 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/8873)

## Related
- [119-hr-4669: FEMA Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4669)
- [119-hr-137: TCJA Permanency Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-137)
- [119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3151)
- [119-hr-842: Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage A…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-842)
- [119-hr-3277: Ensuring Lasting Smiles Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3277)
- [119-hr-33: To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide special rules for the tax…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-33)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-8873 (as of 2026-09-21).