Santos went further, filing an amendment to jack up that requirement to 30 hours a week, and suggesting that his vote was conditioned on his proposal being adopted. Initially, the bill proposed changing Medicaid rules to require beneficiaries to work at least 20 hours a week. In the process of crafting that legislation, Santos was perhaps the loudest voice in the GOP pushing to tighten work requirements for federal aid programs-notably Medicaid, which provides health care to the poorest Americans. Last month, House Republicans passed the Limit, Save, Grow Act, intended as an opening bid in negotiations to avert a default on the federal debt in exchange for deep spending cuts and policy changes desired by the GOP. Santos’ vocal support of the unemployment fraud bill isn’t his only political move now cast in a far different light by the facts of his indictment. 'But they've also developed a remarkable level of comfort with fraud and other crimes in recent years, so I'm not holding my breath.' Jared Huffman (D-CA) told The Daily Beast. 'Supporting Santos' expulsion from the House is a golden opportunity for Republicans to show they take unemployment insurance fraud seriously, as opposed to just playing politics with the issue,' Rep. Santos’ office did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but Democrats were quick to call out Santos for his hypocrisy. Republicans have said that their bill gives states the resources to go after pandemic aid fraud and extends the statute of limitations on fraud crimes from 5 to 10 years. Ironically, that bill might make it harder for authorities to identify and prosecute potential aid fraudsters like Santos, by cutting federal funds approved by Democrats in 2021 to give the Department of Labor more resources to track down fraud.įor instance, the American Rescue Plan Act funded the creation of a federal database to cross-check aid claims in different states-which may have made it easier to discern that Santos, who was employed by a Florida company, drew relief funds in New York. On April 6, Santos became a leading cosponsor of the legislation, which is getting a vote Wednesday to set up final passage in the House later this week. “House Republicans are now turning on the lights after raising the alarm about this greatest theft of tax dollars in American history,” he said.

Brazen and the beast