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President Joe Biden plans to ask Congress to provide $1.6 billion in new funding to tackle fraud tied to U.S. pandemic relief programs and help victims of identity theft, the White House said.

The push, led by White House adviser Gene Sperling, will seek to demonstrate renewed toughness on pandemic fraud ahead of promised investigations by House of Representatives Republicans on the trillions of dollars in COVID-19 pandemic aid approved under both former President Donald Trump, a Republican, and Biden, his Democratic successor.

The aid, among other things, helped pay for expanded unemployment benefits to workers and forgivable loans under the Paycheck Protection Program to companies if they kept workers employed.

The funding request includes $600 million to help investigate large-scale fraud by criminal syndicates, $600 million for fraud and identity theft protection, and $400 million to help victims who have had their identities stolen, according to the White House.

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