COVID Fraud Transparency Act of 2026
Summary
What This Bill Does
The COVID Fraud Transparency Act of 2025 requires quarterly reporting on fraud involving specified COVID-era Small Business Administration loans. Within 60 days after enactment and every three months afterward, the SBA Inspector General must report to the House Small Business Committee and Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee on borrowers engaged in fraud with respect to covered loans. Covered loans include Paycheck Protection Program loans under Small Business Act section 7(a)(36), second-draw PPP loans under section 7(a)(37), and Economic Injury Disaster Loans made under section 7(b) in response to COVID-19 during the CARES Act covered period. Each report must include the number and total dollar amount of covered loans made, new fraud and suspected fraud cases, resolved fraud cases, and the types of fraud cases. The reporting requirement terminates two years after enactment, and the bill authorizes no additional appropriations.
Who Benefits and How
Congressional small-business committees benefit from regular fraud metrics on PPP and COVID EIDL lending. SBA Inspector General investigators benefit from a defined reporting framework that highlights new and resolved fraud cases. Federal taxpayers benefit from more transparent oversight of COVID loan fraud and suspected fraud. Honest PPP borrowers benefit if fraud reporting supports enforcement against abusive borrowers. Small-business watchdog organizations benefit from recurring public oversight data. SBA program-integrity staff benefit from information that can guide follow-up investigations and controls.
Who Bears the Burden and How
The SBA Inspector General must compile and submit reports within 60 days and every three months for two years. SBA data staff must provide loan totals, dollar amounts, fraud cases, suspected fraud cases, resolved cases, and fraud-type categories. Borrowers engaged in PPP or COVID EIDL fraud face increased visibility and enforcement pressure. Congressional committee staff must review recurring reports. SBA program administrators must respond to oversight findings without new appropriations. Federal budget managers avoid new authorized funding but may face pressure to absorb reporting work with existing resources.
Key Provisions
- Requires SBA Inspector General reports within 60 days and every three months on COVID loan fraud.
- Covers PPP loans, second-draw PPP loans, and COVID-response Economic Injury Disaster Loans.
- Requires reporting of loan counts, total dollar amounts, new fraud and suspected-fraud cases, resolved cases, and fraud types.
- Terminates the reporting requirement two years after enactment.
- Bars additional appropriations to carry out the Act.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Requires the Small Business Administration Inspector General within 60 days and every three months thereafter to report to House and Senate small-business committees on fraud involving covered PPP, second-draw PPP, and COVID-response EIDL loans, including the number and dollar amount of covered loans, new fraud and suspected-fraud cases, resolved fraud cases, fraud types, and terminates the reporting requirement two years after enactment while authorizing no additional appropriations.
Key Policy Areas
Small Business, COVID Oversight, Fraud Prevention, Federal Loans
Primary Purpose
Requires the Small Business Administration Inspector General within 60 days and every three months thereafter to report to House and Senate small-business committees on fraud involving covered PPP, second-draw PPP, and COVID-response EIDL loans, including the number and dollar amount of covered loans, new fraud and suspected-fraud cases, resolved fraud cases, fraud types, and terminates the reporting requirement two years after enactment while authorizing no additional appropriations.
Policy Domains
House resolution provisions
Identified Gains
- Congressional small business committees
- SBA Inspector General investigators
- Federal taxpayers
- Honest PPP borrowers
- Small business watchdog organizations
- SBA program integrity staff
Identified Costs
- SBA Inspector General
- SBA data staff
- Borrowers engaged in COVID loan fraud
- Congressional committee staff
- SBA program administrators
- Federal budget managers
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
ReportedPlaced on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 590.
Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Small Business. H. Rept. …
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the …
Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
Ordered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute …
Mr. Williams of Texas (for himself, Mr. Latimer, Mr. Bean …
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Small Business.
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Congressional small business committees, Federal budget managers, SBA Inspector General investigators
Positive-direction: Congressional small business committees, Federal budget managers, Taxpayers
Negative-direction: SBA Inspector General investigators, SBA data staff
Borrowers engaged in COVID loan fraud, Honest PPP borrowers
Positive-direction: Honest PPP borrowers
Negative-direction: Borrowers engaged in COVID loan fraud
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "house"
- → House Small Business Committee
- "sba_ig"
- → Inspector General of the Small Business Administration
- "senate"
- → Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology