A bipartisan bill proposed on May 10 by U.S. Rep. Blake Moore (R-UT) aims to end the misuse of federal funds by tackling improper payments.
“Over the last 20 years, the federal government has made $2.7 trillion in improper payments. Mishandling taxpayer dollars with little oversight is big government at its worst,” Rep. Moore said. “There are plenty of messaging bills in Congress, but this bill is squarely focused on addressing a major issue within our spending crisis.”
The Enhancing Improper Payment Accountability Act, H.R. 8343, which Rep. Moore sponsored with original cosponsor U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA), would enact improved reporting requirements for new federal spending programs and ensure all programs are compliant with current reporting standards, according to a bill summary provided by the congressman’s office.
“This legislation will enact more reporting requirements for new federal spending programs, improving our ability to detect and prevent improper payments and more responsibly steward our federal resources,” said Rep. Moore.
Specifically, H.R. 8343 would designate all new federal spending programs making more than $100 million in payments annually in the first three fiscal years as “susceptible to significant improper payments” in their initial four years of operation, the summary says, and subject the programs to more stringent and timely improper payment reporting requirements.
H.R. 8343 also would require agencies to report on their anti-fraud controls and fraud risk management efforts in their annual financial reports to Congress, and require the president’s budget request to disclose information on agencies and programs that are required to but don’t report on improper payments, the summary states.
“Improper payments and fraud not only hurt American taxpayers, but also hurt the members of our communities whose federal programs are created to assist and diminish public trust in the federal government’s role managing taxpayer dollars,” Rep. Spanberger said. “Congress has a responsibility to both stand up programs that address the pressing needs of Americans and protect their hard-earned dollars.”
Several groups endorsed the bill, including the Utah Taxpayers Association, the Bipartisan Policy Center Action, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, the National Taxpayers Union, and the Project On Government Oversight, among others.