Establish additional fraud prevention and financial integrity data-sharing functions within the Department of the Treasury?

Fraud Prevention and Accountability Act (H.R. 8312)

Awaiting Vote

Bill Summary

H.R. 8312 establishes fraud prevention and financial integrity functions within the Department of the Treasury, including operating the Do Not Pay system and providing data-sharing and analysis services for Federal agencies and states. The bill also establishes the permanent government-wide Inspector General for Fraud, Accountability, and Recovery within the Treasury. The Inspector General’s duties include detecting, preventing, and identifying fraud risks across agencies through an independent data analytics platform and various data-sharing services, for which it will be allocated ten million dollars annually starting Fiscal Year 2035. Finally, the bill temporarily designates the chairperson and the needed employees of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC) to perform the duties of the Office of the Inspector General for Fraud, Accountability, and Recovery until December 31, 2028, by which the assets of PRAC will be transferred over to the Inspector General. Sponsor: Rep. Pete Sessions (Republican, Texas, District 17)
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Opponents say

• "Unfortunately, today I'm going to oppose the bill for a couple of reasons. One, I think there is bipartisan agreement as to the success of the PRAC, and it is reauthorized through 2034, I believe, thanks to the Big, Beautiful Bill. So it's permanent, or as permanent as things are around here. I think when you look at the success of the PRAC, that success is based not just on the current model, but where the current model is located. Its location within CIGIE has allowed for cross-agency forensic analysis after money flows and the ability to coordinate across dozens of IGs across the government. I'm concerned that locating it in Treasury will weaken its ability to compel cooperation with other IGs across the country. I wasn't here, as I know the Chairman will remind me, for the hearing in 2024, but I did go back and watch it. One of the witnesses there said that the PRAC's independence—and I believe locating it within CIGIE is the most independent location for it to be located—was, quote, "the secret sauce." I have concerns that locating it within the Treasury IG could weaken that independence." Source: Rep. James Walkingshaw (Democrat, Virginia, District 11)

• "The overall theme of this hearing is going after fraud, and it pains me greatly that we know where there's a lot of fraud. We even know the address: 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. We ignore that what is happening there is fraud central. It is fraud central. The President's conduct, in terms of foisting this fraud that the elections were stolen, even though he went to court 60 times with Mr. Giuliani, and every single judge struck that down and said there was no evidence of that, yet he perpetuates that fraud continually and undermines the integrity of our elections, and causes people to distrust our electoral process… There's a lot of fraud going on here in this country, and the root of it is at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, and we see it every single day. It pains me greatly that we do not stand up and call that fraud out. Some of us do, but it's just from one side of the aisle." Source: Rep. Stephen Lynch (Democrat, Massachusetts, District 8)

Proponents say

• "Let’s be clear: fraud in federal programs has gone unchecked for far too long. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has acted swiftly to expose widespread theft of taxpayer funds, working alongside the Trump Administration to crack down on fraud and hold fraudsters accountable nationwide. Our oversight has exposed how fraudsters in Minnesota stole taxpayer dollars meant to feed children, support autistic kids, and house low-income seniors and Americans with disabilities. We are now moving to pass strong legislative reforms to stop fraudulent payments before they go out the door and ensure taxpayer-funded programs are working as intended for the American people. The Oversight Committee is delivering on its mission to root out waste and fraud and advance real reforms to stop it from happening again." Source: Rep. James Comer (Republican, Kentucky, District 1)

• "The Department of the Treasury is the largest financial payment manager of the Federal Government and is responsible for safeguarding the General Fund, but lacks sufficient controls to track transactions flowing through the General Fund to determine if they were proper. To enforce sufficient controls and ensure accountability to American taxpayers, the Department of the Treasury requires financial information from executive departments and agencies (agencies) beyond what they currently provide. Financial fraud threatens the integrity of Federal programs and undermines trust in Government. Agencies’ past underinvestment in technology and longstanding challenges with access to accurate data has prevented them from more fully safeguarding taxpayer dollars against fraud and improper payments. … This order promotes financial integrity by enabling the Department of the Treasury to more easily conduct improper payment and fraud prevention screening prior to disbursing funds on behalf of agencies. This order increases transparency and accountability by requiring agencies to provide the Department of the Treasury with the information needed to track transactions through the General Fund in greater detail. This order also promotes operational efficiency by returning disbursing functions to the Department of the Treasury when possible and consolidating and standardizing core Federal financial systems." Source: President Donald Trump (Executive Order 14249)

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