The record

LegislationLegislation· May 2026
S 1199 Passed Senate — in House

Sponsored by Joni Ernst (R)

SBA Fraud Enforcement Extension Act

Extends the time limit to prosecute fraud in pandemic relief programs to 10 years.

Tradeoff

Gives prosecutors a longer window to bring cases against people accused of misusing shuttered venue and restaurant relief grants. Requires the Justice Department to report to Congress every 90 days on prosecution activity.

What's in it

See official bill text

Reduces the deficit by $6 million over 2026-2031 and 2026-2036.

The $6 million net federal savings represents funds recovered from fraud prosecution exceeding the modest enforcement costs — the bill's real impact is extending the window for federal prosecutors to pursue SBA fraud cases from 5 to 10 years, with no significant new federal spending required.

S. 1199, SBA Fraud Enforcement Extension Act · Jul 2026

Passed the Senate by on April 29, 2026 — sitting in the House.

  1. Senate

    Introduced

    (Mar 27, 2025)

  2. Senate

    Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship(Mar 27, 2025)

  3. Senate

    The Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship voted to send it to the floor

    Reported(Jul 16, 2025)

  4. Senate · Amended

    Senator Ernst's

    Agreed to by (S.Amdt. 5440 · Apr 29, 2026)

    Adds a Department of Justice reporting requirement on shuttered venue and restaurant grant fraud, and drops the disaster loan and Paycheck Protection Program fraud time limits.

    No individual votes were recorded.

  5. Senate

    Passage of the bill

    Passed by (Apr 29, 2026)

    No individual votes were recorded.

  6. House

    Received from the Senate

    Received(May 4, 2026)