Staten Island Reporter

The House Committee on Ways and Means has approved the Recovery of Stolen Checks Act, a bill introduced by Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis. The legislation aims to help taxpayers whose tax refunds from the U.S. Treasury were stolen in the mail by allowing them to receive replacement checks via direct deposit. Current IRS policies have led to multiple instances where second and third replacement checks were also stolen.

"Many of my constituents are hardworking taxpayers and when a check goes missing or is stolen, it directly impacts their livelihood," stated Congresswoman Malliotakis. She expressed gratitude towards the committee for passing her legislation with unanimous support and emphasized that delivering reissued payments via direct deposit is a "commonsense solution" to this issue. She urged her colleagues to expedite bringing the bill to the floor before the end of the tax season.

Malliotakis' district has been significantly affected by postal fraud, with $5.3 million in checks reported stolen across 377 cases. The amounts range from several hundred dollars up to $500,000, with one case requiring four reissues before receipt. Last year, she addressed these concerns with IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel and U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen as 40,000 IRS checks were reportedly stolen nationwide in 2024—a sharp increase from 100 in 2022.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith commented on the issue stating, "We must get to the bottom of the recent string of postal thefts that have seen millions of dollars in IRS refund checks stolen from taxpayers." He praised Representative Malliotakis for her efforts in protecting taxpayers and highlighted her advocacy on this matter since last year.

Congresswoman Malliotakis serves on the House Committee on Ways and Means where she focuses on issues such as increasing the State and Local Tax Deduction (SALT) cap, reducing taxes for seniors, and encouraging domestic production by incentivizing companies to bring manufacturing facilities back home.