22 bipartisan members of Congress call for increased public-private partnerships to counter fraud

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A bipartisan group of 22 members of Congress, — led by Representatives Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5), Henry Cuellar (TX-28), and Jerry Carl (AL-1) — wrote to congressional leadership and called for the inclusion of the “financial fraud” language included within the Senate Appropriations Committee’s FY24 Financial Services and General Government bill report.

This language helps combat skyrocketing levels of fraud by encouraging information sharing between government and private sector participants, developing best practices for relevant stakeholders, and encouraging innovations in counter-fraud technologies, data- analytics, and approaches.

The signatory list of 22 bipartisan Members of Congress includes Representatives Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5), Henry Cuellar (TX-28), Jerry Carl (AL-1), Blaine Luetkemeyer (MO-3), Joyce Beatty (OH-3), Michael Guest (MS-3), Emanuel Cleaver (MO-5), Young Kim (CA-40), Wiley Nickel (NC-13), Gregory Meeks (NY-5), Bill Foster (IL-11), Sean Casten (IL-6), Steven Horsford (NV-4), Juan Vargas (CA-52), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-25), Marcy Kaptur (OH-9), Ritchie Torres (NY-15), Jim Himes (CT-4), Josh Harder (CA-9), Sanford Bishop (GA-2), Brittany Pettersen (CO-7), and Vicente Gonzalez (TX-34).

Increased Levels of Fraud Show That:

• Unfortunately, last year, Americans filed more than 2.3 million fraud reports to various government agencies.
• • These totaled to $8.8 billion in losses, a 30 percent increase.

• In 2021, fraud reports increased by an astronomical 70 percent.
• Financial losses connected to imposter scams – where fraudsters imitate well-known business entities or government agencies – skyrocketed to $2.6 billion.

“We believe that encouraging an official public-private sector response to our nation’s increased incidences of fraud and scams is a bipartisan and bicameral policy proposal that should remain within any final appropriations agreement,” the bipartisan Members of Congress wrote in a letter to Speaker Johnson, House Minority Leader Jeffries, Senate Majority Leader Schumer, and Senate Minority Leader McConnell. “We write in support of the “financial fraud” language included within the Senate Appropriations Committee’s FY24 Financial Services and General Government bill report. The language directs the Treasury Department to lead a multisectoral whole-of-society effort to counter the increasing threats associated with financial fraud. This public-private partnership will encourage information sharing between government and private sector participants, develop best practices for relevant stakeholders, and encourage innovations in counter-fraud technologies, data- analytics, and approaches.”