[House Report 118-182]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
118th Congress } { REPORT
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session } { 118-182
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TO REQUIRE THE INSPECTOR GENERAL OF THE SMALL BUSINESS ADMIN-
ISTRATION TO SUBMIT A QUARTERLY REPORT ON FRAUD RELATING TO
CERTAIN COVID-19 LOANS
_______
September 1, 2023.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on
the State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Williams of Texas, from the Committee on Small Business, submitted
the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 4666]
The Committee on Small Business, to whom was referred the
bill (H.R. 4666) to require the Inspector General of the Small
Business Administration to submit a quarterly report on fraud
relating to certain COVID-19 loans, having considered the same,
reports favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that
the bill do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
I. Purpose and Bill Summary.........................................1
II. Need for Legislation.............................................2
III. Hearings.........................................................2
IV. Committee Consideration..........................................2
V. Committee Votes..................................................2
VI. Section-by-Section of H.R. 4666..................................5
VII. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................5
VIII.New Budget Authority, Entitlement Authority, and Tax Expenditures5
IX. Oversight Findings and Recommendations...........................5
X. Performance Goals and Objectives.................................5
XI. Statement of Duplication of Federal Programs.....................6
XII. Congressional Earmarks, Limited Tax Benefits, and Limited Tariff
Benefits.........................................................6
XIII.Federal Mandates Statement.......................................6
XIV. Federal Advisory Committee Statement.............................6
XV. Applicability to Legislative Branch..............................6
XVI. Statement of Constitutional Authority............................6
I. PURPOSE AND BILL SUMMARY
H.R. 4666 was introduced by Rep. Aaron Bean (R-FL) and Rep.
Kweisi Mfume (D-MD) on July 17, 2023. The purpose of H.R. 4666
is to require the Inspector General of the Small Business
Administration to submit a quarterly report to Congress for two
years which provides updated information concerning the ongoing
fraud investigations of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans
and COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL).
II. NEED FOR LEGISLATION
H.R. 4666 requires the Office of the Inspector General
(OIG) of the SBA submit a report to Congress every quarter for
two years which provides updated information concerning the
ongoing fraud investigations of PPP loans and COVID-19 EIDLs.
Specifically, the report must include the total dollar amount
of all covered loans that were made, the number of both new
fraud cases and suspected fraud cases, the type of fraud
identified in those cases, and the number of fraud cases
resolved to date.
According to the SBA OIG White Paper Report 23-09, COVID-19
Pandemic EIDL and PPP Loan Fraud Landscape, an estimated $200
billion in potentially fraudulent COVID-19 EIDLs and PPP loans
were disbursed by the SBA.\1\ As the OIG continues working on
the tens of thousands of investigative leads on alleged fraud,
waste, and abuse of taxpayer resources, it is important for
Congress to be kept apprised of the extent of the fraud and the
progress in resolving ongoing cases.
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\1\U.S. Small Bus. Admin. Office of Inspector Gen., Report 23-09,
White paper on COVID-19 Pandemic EIDL and PPP Loan Fraud Landscape
(Jun. 27, 2023).
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III. HEARINGS
In the 118th Congress, the Committee held one hearing
examining the issues covered in H.R. 4666. On July 13, 2023,
during the Full Committee hearing, ``Stolen Taxpayer Funds:
Reviewing the SBA and OIG Reports of Fraud in Pandemic Lending
Programs,'' the Committee examined two recent and contradicting
reports that exposed fraud in the COVID-19 pandemic lending
programs. The SBA OIG report concluded the SBA disbursed more
than $200 billion in potentially fraudulent loans through
pandemic relief programs, while the SBA reported the fraud in
these programs is closer to $36 billion.
In addition to the discrepancy of more than $160 billion in
fraud between the two reports, the Inspector General testified
that he is committed to keeping the House Committee on Small
Business updated amid the more than 100 years of investigative
casework required to look into the over 90,000 actionable leads
from hotline complaints that they received.
IV. COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION
The Committee on Small Business met in open session, with a
quorum being present, on July 18, 2023, and ordered H.R. 4666
reported to the House of Representatives. During the markup, no
amendments were offered.
V. COMMITTEE VOTES
Clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives requires the Committee to list the recorded
votes on the motion to report legislation and amendments
thereto. The Committee voted to favorably report H.R. 4666 to
the House of Representatives at 11:00 AM.
VI. SECTION-BY-SECTION OF H.R. 4666
Section 1. Report on fraud relating to certain COVID-19 loans
This section requires that the Inspector General of the SBA
submit a report to Congress every quarter that details the
number of borrowers it has found to have engaged in fraud with
respect to PPP loans and EIDLs. This report must include the
total dollar amount of all covered loans made, the number and
type of fraud found in both new and suspected fraud cases, and
the number of fraud cases resolved to date.
Section 2. Compliance with CUTGO
This section does not authorize any additional
appropriations for this bill.
VII. CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE
Pursuant to clause 3(d)(1) of House rule XIII, the
Committee adopts as its own the cost estimate prepared by the
Director of the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section
402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974. The Committee has
requested but not received from the Director of the
Congressional Budget Office a cost estimate for the Committee's
provisions. Once available, the cost estimate will be published
in the Congressional Record.
VIII. NEW BUDGET AUTHORITY, ENTITLEMENT AUTHORITY, AND TAX EXPENDITURES
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives and section 308(a)(I) of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee provides the
following opinion and estimate with respect to new budget
authority, entitlement authority, and tax expenditures. While
the Committee has not received an estimate of new budget
authority contained in the cost estimate prepared by the
Director of the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to Sec.
402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee does
not believe that there will be any additional costs
attributable to this legislation. H.R. 4666 does not direct new
spending.
IX. OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
In accordance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII and clause
2(b)(1) of rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives,
the oversight findings and recommendations of the Committee on
Small Business with respect to the subject matter contained in
the H.R. 4666 are incorporated into the descriptive portions of
this report.
X. PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(1) of rule
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the
performance goals and objectives of H.R. 4666 are to require a
quarterly report from the SBA OIG to Congress over a two-year
period that includes updated data from investigative casework
that includes the total dollar amount of all covered PPP and
EIDL loans that have been made, the number of both new fraud
cases and suspected fraud cases, the type of fraud identified
in those cases, and the number of fraud cases resolved to date.
XI. STATEMENT OF DUPLICATION OF FEDERAL PROGRAMS
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(5) of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, no provision of H.R. 4666 is known to
be duplicative of another Federal program, including any
program that was included in a report to Congress pursuant to
section 21 of Public Law 111-139 or the most recent Catalog of
Federal Domestic Assistance.
XII. CONGRESSIONAL EARMARKS, LIMITED TAX BENEFITS, AND LIMITED TARIFF
BENEFITS
With respect to clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, the Committee finds that the bill
does not contain any congressional earmarks, limited tax
benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in clause 9(e),
9(f), or 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of the House of
Representatives.
XIII. FEDERAL MANDATES STATEMENT
The Committee adopts as its own the estimate of Federal
mandates prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office pursuant to section 423 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform
Act.
XIV. FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE STATEMENT
No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b)
of the Federal Advisory Committee Act were created by this
legislation.
XV. APPLICABILITY TO LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to
the terms and conditions of employment or access to public
services or accommodations within the meaning of section
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act.
XVI. STATEMENT OF CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY
Pursuant to clause 7 of rule XII of the Rules of the House,
the Committee finds that the authority for this legislation in
Art. I, Sec. 8, cl.1 of the Constitution of the United States.
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