H.R. 4495 · Where this bill is now
In the Senate
Passed the House Dec 1, 2025. Received Dec 2, 2025; no Senate vote yet
What this bill does
In plain words · AI-written from the official summaryExtends fraud case timeline for COVID relief programs
The government has more time to catch and prosecute people who fraudulently obtained money from two COVID-19 relief programs: the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (which helped entertainment venues like theaters and concert halls) and the Restaurant Revitalization Fund. This bill extends the deadline for bringing fraud charges—both criminal cases and civil lawsuits—from whatever the current timeline is to 10 years.
How it affects you
If you received funds from these two relief programs legitimately, this doesn't affect you. But if federal investigators discover someone committed fraud with these grants years later, the government now has up to 10 years from when the fraud occurred to take legal action, rather than a shorter window. This gives authorities more opportunity to recover taxpayer money that was obtained dishonestly.
Read the official summary (Reported to House, Aug 15, 2025)
SBA Fraud Enforcement Extension Act
This bill extends the statute of limitations to 10 years for fraud-based criminal and civil offenses with respect to the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant and the Restaurant Revitalization Fund COVID-19 relief programs.
Written by AI (Claude) using only the official summary by the Congressional Research Service, the Library of Congress’s nonpartisan research staff. It can miss nuance, so check the official summary and the bill text for details.
1st SessionH. R. 4495
AN ACT
SBA Fraud Enforcement Extension Act
Sponsor: Rep. Troy Downing (R-MT-2) · Introduced Jul 17, 2025 · Commerce · 4 versions of the text
Sources: Congress.gov actions and votes · bill text from GovInfo · latest official action Dec 2, 2025: “Received in the Senate. Read twice. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 281.”
Sections
The wording of this bill hasn’t changed across its 4 official versions.