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Department of Labor outlines PUA and CARES‑era fund balances, overpayments and possible extensions
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Summary
At a Ways and Means budget hearing Department of Labor staff reported remaining balances across multiple CARES‑era accounts, described recovery of established overpayments and said extensions for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) funding are tentative.
Department of Labor officials provided the Ways and Means Committee a detailed accounting of several federal pandemic and program funds during the fiscal 2026 budget hearing and said extensions for some grant periods are still tentative.
TG Rabago, the department’s budget analyst, described remaining balances across multiple accounts tied to benefits and administrative costs. Rabago said the CNMI had received multiple benefit allotments and administrative blocks under CARES‑era programs and that some administrative funding blocks expire in June while two other administrative funding sources expire in September; the department said some extensions have been requested and reported they were told an extension to September was possible but not guaranteed.
Secretary Leila Stafler and department staff told members that PUA funds are being used to pay for PUA appeals handled by outside counsel while the Administrative Hearing Office is vacant, and that CW (Consular Workers/CW program) administrative fees have supplemented utilities and other shared building costs. Frances Torres, who leads employment services and WIOA programs, said CW receipts fluctuate by quarter and that the program had not reached its statutory cap in recent years.
On overpayments the department reported the following figures as its current accounting: 8,233 cases had been forwarded for action; 5,359 of those were closed or fully paid by claimants; the department said the total established overpayment amount is $38,400,000 and that PUA collections to date are $18,600,000. For FPOC (another benefits category) the department said an established amount of $19,800,000 and collections reported to date. The department said total recoveries intercepted to date total $24,100,000 (about $11.5 million from PUA and $12.5 million from FPOC); the department characterized the projection that all pending disbursements would be paid by September 2025 as “very unlikely” but provided a disbursement projection under the assumption of full eligibility.
Committee members asked how long PUA funding would last; department staff said the core CARES grants are set to expire on June 30 and that an extension letter could extend the expenditure period (staff described the extension timeline as likely to be one year from any extension decision). The department asked the committee not to delete unfilled local FTEs that support administration and enforcement while the grants are addressed.
The department did not request immediate committee action on re‑purposing funds at the hearing; staff said reprogramming federal CARES funds into new local unemployment insurance programs would likely require approval from federal grantors and might require legislative or congressional action.
