{"id":2418694,"date":"2025-04-01T20:48:01","date_gmt":"2025-04-02T00:48:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/return-to-sender-labor-department-kicking-1-4-billion-back-to-the-taxpayer\/"},"modified":"2025-04-01T20:49:06","modified_gmt":"2025-04-02T00:49:06","slug":"return-to-sender-labor-department-kicking-1-4-billion-back-to-the-taxpayer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/return-to-sender-labor-department-kicking-1-4-billion-back-to-the-taxpayer\/","title":{"rendered":"Return to Sender: Labor Department Kicking $1.4 Billion Back to the Taxpayer"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Freturn-to-sender-labor-department-kicking-1-4-billion-back-to-the-taxpayer%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2418694&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>In a recent declaration, U.S. Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer revealed that she has recovered $1.4 billion in <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">unused pandemic-related unemployment funds<\/a> that states had not spent. This comes after an audit showed nearly $5 billion remained unutilized. chavez-DeRemer emphasized that it&#8217;s unacceptable for such funds to remain idle and pledged to continue the recovery efforts, aiming to reclaim an additional $2.9 billion. The effort reflects a commitment to fiscal duty and ensuring taxpayer dollars are used efficiently.Deputy Secretary Keith Sonderling supported these claims, highlighting the need to eliminate waste and improve oversight in federal funding programs.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>President Donald Trump&rsquo;s appointee to run the Department of Labor is taking back money states should have finished spending years ago.<\/p>\n<p>Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said that she has recovered $1.4 billion in unused funding that states were holding onto from pandemic-era programs, according to a news release posted on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dol.gov\/newsroom\/releases\/osec\/osec20250331-0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Labor Department&rsquo;s website<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Chavez-DeRemer said she&rsquo;s not done putting cash into the Department of Treasury&rsquo;s general fund. The release said that there is &ldquo;action being taken to recover&rdquo; another $2.9 billion.<\/p>\n<p>As the pandemic erupted, the federal government provided <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/elon-announces-doges-next-target-nancy-pelosi-may-just-flee-country\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">billions<\/a> in emergency unemployment assistance. Not all the money was spent by states during the time of mass layoffs and COVID-19 restrictions, but they held onto it anyway.<\/p>\n<p>Although a 2023 audit uncovered the fact that states were holding onto money to which they had no claim, it took until <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/trump-nominee-advances-rescued-3-yes-votes-democrats\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Chavez-DeRemer&rsquo;s arrival<\/a> at the department to begin taking it back.<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"stnvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadScript(src) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=src; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.async=true; \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.body.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadScript(\"https:\/\/embed.sendtonews.com\/player3\/embedcode.js?fk=s28Az7AY\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #stnvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#stnvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Any money still sitting around for pandemic-era unemployment funds is a clear misuse of Americans&rsquo; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/watch-democrat-congressman-uses-national-guard-in-apparent-political-stunt-against-gop-member\/\" title=\"WATCH: Democrat Congressman Uses National Guard In Apparent \u2018Political Stunt\u2019 Against GOP Member\">hard-earned tax dollars<\/a>,&rdquo; Chavez-DeRemer said.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m keeping my promise to be a good steward of your money by rooting out waste to ensure American Workers always come first,&rdquo; she said.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s unacceptable that billions of dollars went unchecked in a program that ended several years ago,&rdquo; Deputy Secretary of Labor Keith Sonderling said. &ldquo;In a huge win for the American taxpayer, we&rsquo;ve clawed back these unused funds and will keep working to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Government waste hates to see us coming &#128526; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/j4Nmp0ECzj\">https:\/\/t.co\/j4Nmp0ECzj<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; U.S. Department of Labor (@USDOL) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/USDOL\/status\/1907154840129552555?\">April 1, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;There&rsquo;s no reason leftover COVID unemployment funds should still be collecting dust,&rdquo; DeRemer told <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/trump-labor-department-secures-eye-popping-sum-return-taxpayers-amid-doge-push\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Fox News<\/a>. &ldquo;I promised to look out for Americans&rsquo; hard-earned tax dollars, and we are delivering at the Department of Labor.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>DeRemer said last month that partnering with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/doge-derangement-syndrome-woman-arrested-promising-blow-everything-federal-building\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Department of Government Efficiency<\/a> was a major part of her plan for the department.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Under the leadership of President Trump, our focus remains on promoting job creation, enhancing workforce development, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-touts-pro-worker-credentials-in-union-heavy-swing-state-nevada\/\" title=\"Biden highlights worker support in union-heavy Nevada\">ensuring safe working conditions<\/a>, wages, and pensions so that every American has the opportunity to succeed,&rdquo; DeRemer said in a memo to her staff.<\/p>\n<p>She said the department &ldquo;must focus on practicing fiscal responsibility, reducing unnecessary spending, and optimizing our resources to ensure that taxpayer dollars are utilized effectively.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>According to an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oig.dol.gov\/public\/reports\/oa\/2023\/19-23-015-03-315.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">audit<\/a> released in September 2023, nearly $5 billion of the COVID-era funds remained unused as of July 31 of that year.<\/p>\n<p>The audit said the Employment and Training Administration, a part of the Labor Department, &ldquo;did not have sufficient controls in place to ensure states accessing funds were in fact eligible for reimbursements or that unused TFFF funds were returned to the federal government,&rdquo; using the acronym for the Temporary Full Federal Funding of the First Week of Compensable Regular Unemployment for States with No Waiting Week program.<\/p>\n<p>The audit noted that it found that &ldquo;states received TFFF funding when they were not eligible, and states&rsquo; TFFF accounts have unused fund balances that have not been reconciled and closed out for deobligation.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The audit said $105.1 million in questionable costs were identified in four states &mdash; Delaware, Oregon, Mississippi, and Louisiana.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, appointed by President Donald Trump, is reclaiming funds that states should have already spent. She announced the recovery of $1.4 billion in unutilized pandemic-related funding that states retained. According to a Labor Department news release, she plans to continue adding money to the Treasury&#8217;s general fund and is working to recover an additional $2.9 billion. During the pandemic, the federal government allocated billions for emergency unemployment assistance; however, not all of it was utilized by states during widespread layoffs and restrictions related to COVID-19. An audit in 2023 revealed that some states were holding onto funds they were not entitled to, but it wasn&#8217;t until Chavez-DeRemer&#8217;s tenure that efforts began to reclaim this money<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2418695,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Money-returned-from-states.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[34402,51601,42046,52663],"class_list":["post-2418694","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-economic-policy","tag-government-funding-2","tag-labor-department","tag-taxpayer-refund"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Money-returned-from-states.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2418694","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2418694"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2418694\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2418698,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2418694\/revisions\/2418698"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2418695"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2418694"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2418694"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2418694"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}