Inspector General asks for More Time, Money to Probe Pandemic Unemployment Fraud; Outgoing CDC Chief Rochelle Walensky to testify before House COVID panel over who pushed mandates, and other C-Virus related stories
Inspector general asks for more time, money to probe pandemic unemployment fraud:
The Labor Department‘s inspector general said Tuesday it will soon run out of its infusion of pandemic cash and will have to trim its investigation into the fraudsters who stole tens of billions of dollars from the unemployment benefit system.
The inspector general also said that unless Congress acts to extend the current five-year statute of limitations for what’s known as “unemployment insurance” fraud, some fraudsters will be home-free in 2025.
“Even with the OIG’s tireless efforts, the current statute of limitations associated with UI fraud means federal law enforcement may still fall short in fully investigating and prosecuting the most egregious cases of UI fraud, especially given the volume and complexity of UI fraud matters we are tasked to investigate,” the inspector general said in its new semiannual report.
Officials begged for more time and better data to continue to sniff out wrongdoers. And they said it’ll take more money to make sure scofflaws don’t get away with it.
Already, the inspector general is starting to shed staffers hired during the pandemic, because the supplemental money has been exhausted.
The government still hasn’t come up with an estimate for how much fraud there was in the unemployment system, but the inspector general said the current estimate of “improper” payments — which includes fraud and other bungles — is $191 billion. —>READ MORE HERE
Outgoing CDC chief Rochelle Walensky to testify before House COVID panel over who pushed mandates:
Departing Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky has agreed to testify before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic next month about the influence nongovernmental groups such as teachers unions had over public health mandates during the outbreak.
Walensky, who was invited to testify after ignoring records requests related to the agency’s communications on school reopening for months, has confirmed she will visit the subcommittee for a hearing on June 13.
“We are looking forward to Director Walensky’s testimony before the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic and are pleased that the Biden Administration has allowed her voluntary appearance,” a spokesperson for the select subcommittee told The Post. “There are many questions that the Director is uniquely qualified to answer and it is important for the American public to hear directly from her.”
The subcommittee requested Walensky’s presence following testimony from American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten, who informed Congress in April that she and the director spoke directly by phone and communicated about CDC policy regarding school reopening guidelines in early 2021.
“AFT President Randi Weingarten’s testimony before the Select Subcommittee in April revealed, for the first time, that Ms. Weingarten had a direct telephone line to Director Walensky,” the committee said in a statement. “This previously unknown information raises further questions about potential political interference in CDC policies and decisions during the COVID-19 pandemic.” —>READ MORE HERE
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