House committee leaders introduce anti-fraud bills for federal programs

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Anti-fraud federal bills introduced

Highlights

House leaders introduced H.R. 8464 and H.R. 8463 to strengthen pre-payment fraud detection and prevention in federal programs.
The Stopping Fraudulent Payments Act would empower agencies and the U.S. Treasury to halt or return high-risk payments before disbursement.
The Pre-Payment Fraud Prevention and Treasury Data Access Act would expand anti-fraud tools like the Do Not Pay system and enhance payee verification processes.

Legislative push targets pre-payment controls

As reported by the House Committee on the Budget, House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington and House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman James Comer are introducing the Stopping Fraudulent Payments Act, H.R. 8464, and the Pre-Payment Fraud Prevention and Treasury Data Access Act, H.R. 8463, to protect taxpayer funds from fraud in federal programs.

Arrington says the measures are designed to address improper payments before money is lost, arguing that Washington should focus less on recovering stolen funds after the fact and more on preventing abuse at the outset. Comer says fraud is widespread in federal programs and points to the Oversight Committee's investigation into Minnesota social services programs, which he says uncovered $9 billion potentially stolen by fraudsters.

The Stopping Fraudulent Payments Act would allow federal agencies to halt payments when they determine there is an elevated risk of fraud or when a payment is likely to be improper. It also would give the U.S. Treasury authority to return payment requests to agencies if they appear vulnerable to fraud, shifting enforcement toward prevention rather than recovery.

Oversight changes could widen Treasury's role

The Pre-Payment Fraud Prevention and Treasury Data Access Act would direct the U.S. Treasury to work with agencies to verify payment and payee information before money goes out. The bill also seeks to expand anti-fraud tools such as the Do Not Pay system and improve agency access to accurate data used to identify improper and fraudulent payments.

If enacted, the legislation would strengthen Treasury's role in screening federal disbursements and could tighten administrative controls across a range of taxpayer-funded programs. Comer says he expects the bills to move to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee for markup next week.

In our earlier coverage of the Stopping Fraudulent Payments Act (H.R. 8464) and the Pre-Payment Fraud Prevention and Treasury Data Access Act (H.R. 8463), we explained how the bills would shift oversight from “pay and chase” to stopping higher-risk federal payments before money is disbursed. We also outlined how committee investigations—especially allegations of large-scale fraud tied to Minnesota social services programs—added momentum for expanding tools like the Do Not Pay system and giving Treasury more authority to block or return suspect payment requests.

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