WASHINGTON – U.S. Department of Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer today announced $1.4 billion in unused COVID-era funding has been returned to taxpayers through the U.S. Department of Treasury’s General Fund, with action being taken to recover the remaining $2.9 billion. The roughly $4.3 billion was intended for states to use for temporary unemployment insurance during the pandemic. Instead, several states continued spending millions of dollars despite no longer meeting necessary requirements, which was uncovered in a 2023 audit conducted by the department’s Office of Inspector General.“Any money still sitting around for pandemic-era unemployment funds is a clear misuse of Americans’ hard-earned tax dollars,” Secretary Chavez-DeRemer said. “I’m keeping my promise to be a good steward of your money by rooting out waste to ensure American Workers always come First.” “It’s unacceptable that billions of dollars went unchecked in a program that ended several years ago,” Deputy Secretary of Labor Keith Sonderling said. “In a huge win for the American taxpayer, we’ve clawed back these unused funds and will keep working to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse.”This funding originated under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act in March of 2020, which established the Temporary Full Federal Funding of the First Week of Compensable Regular Unemployment for States with No Waiting Week program. The program was intended to provide expanded unemployment insurance to Americans unable to work due to the pandemic. Although TFFF was closed in 2021, the OIG’s 2023 audit found four states were allowed to access the funding “despite not meeting program requirements,” totaling over $100 million in spending. Read the full audit here.