Fraudsters who stole billions in COVID relief might soon be off the hook — and it looks like Senator Ed Markey wants to keep it that way.
A bipartisan bill designed to give prosecutors more time to go after COVID-era scammers is being quietly blocked in the Senate, despite overwhelming support in the House and unanimous backing in committee. The “SBA Fraud Enforcement Extension Act” is only two pages long and does one simple thing: it extends the statute of limitations for fraud involving two major COVID relief programs — the $29 billion Restaurant Revitalization Fund and the $15 billion Shuttered Venue Operators Grant.
Both were hotbeds of abuse. According to the SBA’s own inspector general, 12% of restaurant grant recipients didn’t even bother to file the required paperwork. Half a billion dollars in the venue program is flagged as “potentially improper.” And worst of all, both programs ran out of money — meaning real businesses were likely pushed aside by fraudsters who knew how to game the system.
Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) sounded the alarm: “Senate Democrats are blocking my commonsense bill… meaning criminals like those recently exposed in Minnesota will get away with it simply because the clock will run out.” She’s not exaggerating. Prosecutors are drowning in backlog. The only thing they need is more time. And yet, Ed Markey — the top Democrat on the Senate Small Business Committee — is sitting on the bill, refusing to give the green light for it to reach the Senate floor.
Why? Markey won’t say. His office hasn’t responded to requests for comment.
Meanwhile, watchdogs are baffled. “This issue ought to be unanimous,” said John Hart, head of Open The Books. “What, exactly, is controversial about prosecuting cases of fraud?”
Good question. But it seems this White House and its allies are allergic to accountability. From day one, Biden’s COVID relief strategy was “pay and chase” — flood the economy with money now, and figure out who didn’t deserve it later. But now that “later” is here, Democrats are acting like the chase part doesn’t matter.
Rep. Michelle Fischbach exposes how Democrats have allowed and created fraud in Minnesota for YEARS:
“[Democrats] specifically wrote and passed legislation that reduced oversight when handing out federal funds. Democrats seized on COVID…to yank back fraud protections.” pic.twitter.com/o82yf8vqPa
Should Congress extend the statute of limitations for prosecuting COVID relief fraud?— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) January 7, 2026
Worse, this appears to be part of a disturbing pattern. The Biden administration has openly declined to pursue PPP loan repayment in many cases, citing “equity” as justification. In some states, Democratic lawmakers — including two Black Democrats in Georgia and an Arab Democrat in Virginia — have been caught red-handed stealing COVID funds. And one African-born USAID employee used a fake company to scam the PPP program, collecting cash based on a business that didn’t even exist on paper.
These aren’t isolated incidents. They’re signals. And they raise an uncomfortable question: are Democrats more interested in protecting certain fraudsters than in protecting American taxpayers?
Markey’s refusal to act is just the latest example. During a recent Senate Small Business Committee hearing, when fraud experts testified on the growing problem, most Democrats didn’t even show up. Those who did, including Markey, brushed off the fraud as not worth the fuss — or pivoted to anti-Trump rants that had nothing to do with the issue at hand.
It’s a stunning reversal. Not long ago, fighting government fraud was a rare area of bipartisan agreement. But now? Democrats can’t even bring themselves to extend the window to prosecute known criminals. Instead, they’re letting the clock run out — and the scammers cash in.
Senator Ernst put it bluntly: “Are my Democrat colleagues saying we should be ignoring billions of dollars of waste, fraud, and abuse?”
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