Joni Ernst

Senate DOGE Caucus Chair Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, led fellow Republicans on Wednesday in announcing an anti-fraud package to save $240 billion.

The package of 17 bills, called the Protecting American Taxpayers Act, is part of a collaboration by Republican senators that began earlier this year, following the Minnesota fraud scandal, the New York Post reported.

GOP lawmakers over the last few months discussed paths to recover stolen money, stop federal funds from being funneled overseas, implement stronger safeguards on government spending, and target fraudsters. This began after Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.C., tapped Ernst to lead the effort in creating an anti-fraud package.

“Many politicians and lenient, liberal judges look the other way while criminals steal more than $1 billion from taxpayers every day,” Ernst told the Post.

“The Protecting American Taxpayers Act not only stops fraud before it happens and holds those responsible accountable, but it returns stolen dollars to taxpayers.”

While the package may not pass, the goal is to bring Republicans together on the fraud issue and put pressure on Democrats.

“This overdue legislation will soon be brought to a vote to put every senator on the record on whether they stand with swindlers or taxpayers,” Ernst said.

Between 2018 and 2022, the Government Accountability Office estimated that between $233 billion and $521 billion of federal funding was lost to fraud. The GAO also found that more than $2.8 trillion of improper payments were made since fiscal year 2023.

One of the bills in the legislative package would give lawmakers more data on improper federal payments so Congress can crack down on them.

The Protecting American Taxpayers Act includes creating a task force to examine deep fake fraud, extending the statute of limitations to prosecute crimes related to the COVID-19 pandemic, blocking funds from going to countries under U.S. arms embargoes or travel bans, and modernizing the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program.

To recover stolen funds, the package includes restricting payments until a service is provided, rescinding $65 billion in unspent COVID-19 funds, giving bonuses to watchdog employees who catch fraud, and cutting off Small Business Administration assistance from convicted fraudsters.

The package would also require that the Treasury Department provide more details and cross-check outlays, restrict recipients of government assistance from wiring money abroad, and increase whistleblower protections.

"It will save our taxpayers approximately $240 billion in the waste, fraud, and abuse in federal government," Ernst told Fox Business' "Mornings with Maria" on Wednesday.

The GOP senators involved in the package are Pete Ricketts of Nebraska, Roger Marshall of Kansas, Kevin Cramer of North Dakota, Ashley Moody of Florida, Jim Banks and Todd Young of Indiana, Chuck Grassley of Iowa, John Cornyn of Texas, Bernie Moreno and Jon Husted of Ohio, Tim Sheey of Montana, and Dave McCormick of Pennsylvania.