IF THEY DON’T, THE GOP BILL WILL
MAKE A GOOD CAMPAIGN THEME A
PRIORITY IF THEY WIN IN
NOVEMBER.
JOINING ME NOW, MARIE TO GRADY,
"WALL STREET JOURNAL" EDITORIAL
BOARD MEMBER, ALSO A FOX
BUSINESS CONTRIBUTOR.
MARY O’GRADY.
THIS IS JUST UNEMPLOYMENT
INSURANCE.
IT’S $163 BILLION THAT WAS SPENT
IN ERROR JUST IN UNEMPLOYMENT
INSURANCE, BILLIONS OF IT,
PROBABLY FRAUD.
>> YEAH, I MEAN, YOU KNOW, $163
BILLION, IT JUST SEEMS LIKE A
ROUNDING ERROR AT THIS POINT
WHEN WE’RE TALKING ABOUT
TRILLIONS, BUT THAT’S A LOT OF
MONEY.
THAT’S NINE 0s.
AND AS A TOTAL OF THE
UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE, IT WAS
ALMOST 20%.
AND, YOU KNOW, AS YOU SAY, THESE
WERE CRIMINAL GROUPS.
ONE THING WE HAVE TO KEEP IN
MIND IS THE STATES IS HAVE THE
RESPONDENT HERE TO MAKE SURE
THAT THEY’RE NOT -- THE
RESPONSIBILITY HERE TO MAKE SURE
THAT THEY’RE NOT GIVING MONEY,
CUTTING CHECKS TO DEAD PEOPLE --
[LAUGHTER]
AND HE CAN PUT THOSE SYSTEMS IN
PLACE, AND THEY HAVE TO CARE
ABOUT IT AND DO IT.
AND SO THIS BILL WOULD BASICALLY
GIVE THEM THE INCENTIVE TO DO IT
BY SAYING TO TO THEM FOR THE
MONEY THAT YOU’RE ABLE TO
RECOVER, YOU CAN KEEP 25%, AND
YOU CAN USE THAT TOWARD ACTUALLY
MAKING PEOPLE BETTER OFF IN YOUR
STATE.
SO THERE’S AN SNIFF FOR -- AN
INCENTIVE FOR STATES TO
COOPERATE IF THE BILL IS PASSED.
DAGEN: AND SOME OF THE
STATEMENTS HAVE BEEN TRYING TO
TRACK DOWN, INCLUDING MONEY THAT
WAS STOLEN.
INCLUDING CALIFORNIA.
THEY’VE ID FIELD $1 # 1 BILLION
IN FRAUDULENT PAYMENTS JUST MT.
STATE.
>> YEAH.
CALIFORNIA IS A LEADING
PROPONENT OF THIS IDEA, AND IT
NEEDS TO BE DONE.
BUT I THINK WHAT SHOULD BE
BOTHERSOME TO AMERICANS IS,
OKAY, WE WERE IN A CRISIS.
A LOT OF THING WERE DONE VERY
QUICKLY.
BUT WE LIVE IN AN ERA OF VERY
SOPHISTICATED TECHNOLOGY.
IF YOU HAVE THE WILL TO ACTUALLY
MAKE SURE THAT MONEY THAT YOU’RE
HANDING OUT DURING AN
UNEMPLOYMENT CRISIS GOES TO
PEOPLE WHO DESERVE IT, IT CAN BE
DONE.
IT’S JUST A MATTER OF HAVING THE
POLITICAL WILL TO DO IT.
AND I THINK THAT’S WHAT’S BEEN
MISSING HERE.
AND THAT’S WHY THIS BILL IS
CRAFTED IN A WAY SO THAT THERE’S
AN INCENTIVE FOR STATES TO SAY,
YEAH, WE’RE GOING TO TRY TO GET
THIS MONEY BACK, AND WE’RE GOING
TO TRY TO MAKE SURE GOING
FORWARD THAT IT CAN’T HAPPEN.
DAGEN: AND THIS IS JUST THE
UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE FRAUD.
AND IF YOU LOOK IN TERMS OF THE
MONEY THAT WAS STOLEN, I’M
LEAVING OUT THE PAYCHECK
PROTECTION PROGRAM.
THERE WAS AT LEAST -- BASED ON
THE ESTIMATES, MORE THAN $100
BILLION THAT WAS STOLEN, AND THE
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT BIT BY BIT
ARE FINDING THESE PEOPLE AND
CHARGING ’EM AND GETTING
CONVICTIONS.
BUT IF YOU GO THROUGH SOME OF
THE RECENT CASES THAT WERE FILED
OR THE PLEA DEALS THAT THEY’VE
INKED, THERE’S THIS MAN MANY
RICHMOND, VIRGINIA, GUILTY TO A
MILLION DOLLAR PAYCHECK
PROTECTION FRAUD, HE SUBMITTED
38 LOAN APPLICATIONS TO
INSTITUTIONS.
THERE WAS A MONEY MANAGER IF
HERE WHO, AGAIN, WAS JUSTIN?
SED TO 51 MONTHS -- JUSTIN?
SED TO 51 MONTHS IN PRISON, 21
LOAN APPLICATIONS TO 13 LENDERS.
THERE WERE PEOPLE DRIVING
LAMBORGHINIS ALL AROUND MIAMI
THAT THEY BOUGHT WITH STOLEN
MONEY.
IT’S A FAILURE OF BIG
GOVERNMENT.
AND I FULLY ACKNOWLEDGE THAT
DONALD TRUMP WAS THE PRESIDENT
AT THE TIME.
BUT BIG GOVERNMENT FAILS.
THEY HAVE NO CONTROL.
IF YOU BELIEVE THAT GOVERNMENT
KNOWS BEST, WELL, YOU’RE AN
IDIOT.
[LAUGHER]
>> WELL, I HAVE TO AGREE WITH
YOU THAT THE REAL SHOCK HERE IS
NOT, YOU KNOW, AS I SAID, IN A
CRISIS, YOU KNOW, THINGS GO
WRONG, SOME SORT OF FOG OF WAR
THAT’S OCCURRING.
AND YOU REMEMBER BACK IN 2020, I
MEAN, IT WAS KIND OF SCARY, YOU
KNOW, THE SHUTDOWNS AND THE
UNEMPLOYMENT AND SO FORTH AND
WHAT WOULD PEOPLE DO, HOW WOULD
THEY EAT AND SO FORTH.
BUT, YOU KNOW, IT IS AN
ILLUSTRATION OF HOW OUT OF
CONTROL WASHINGTON IS THAT THEY
WOULD -- THIS AMOUNT OF MONEY,
$163 BILLION, LIKE I SAID, NINE
0s, AND IT’S LIKE, OOPS.
[LAUGHTER]
YOU KNOW?
THAT JUST SEEMS LIKE IT DOESN’T
PASS THE LAUGH TEST.
DAGEN: SO EVERY TIME THE
DEMOCRATS NOW STAND UP AND SAY
WE NEED MORE MONEY FOR THIS,
AGAIN, ON DECK IS MORE MONEY FOR
SCHOOL SECURITY.
BUT THERE’S $100 BILLION ROUGHLY
THAT IS UNSPENT BY PUBLIC
SCHOOLS ACROSS THE COUNTRY THAT
WAS HANDED OUT LAST YEAR IN THE
$2 # TRILLION AID PACKAGE THAT
WAS PASS UNDER PRESIDENT BIDEN.
-- PASSED UNDER PRESIDENT BIDEN.
SO WHY DO YOU -- USE THAT.
IT’S NOT EVEN SPENT YET, AND
THEY HAVE TO SPEND IT ON SAFETY
OF THE SCHOOLS, BUT IT WAS LIKE
HEALTH SAFETY.
BUT THEY HAVE TO SPEND IT OR
THEY LOSE IT.
THIS IS HOW RECKLESS WE ARE AT A
TIME WHEN WE CAN’T AFFORD TO BE
FINANCIALLY RECKLESS.
>> YEAH.
I MEAN, I THINK THAT WE HAVE AN
ELECTION IN NOVEMBER.
THERE’S A HUGE OPPORTUNITY FOR
ANY IF POLITICIAN ON EITHER SIDE
OF THE AISLE TO PICK UP THIS
ISSUE AND RUN WITH IT.
PEOPLE CARE ABOUT IT BECAUSE
THEY’RE PAYING, YOU KNOW, TAXES,
AND THEY’RE IN A ARE RECESSION,
AND, YOU KNOW, IT’S NOT A MOMENT
OF GREAT AFFLUENCE IN THE UNITED
STATES, IN THE U.S. ECONOMY.
SO THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR
ANY POLITICIAN TO RUN WITH
BASICALLY SOMETHING THAT WOULD
EXPRESS MORE RESPONSIBLE
GOVERNMENT TO THE POPULATION, TO