HR-8342 would require that the budget request include additional information and context on waste, fraud, and abuse. Image: DCStockPhotography/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffThe House Budget Committee has approved two bills aimed at addressing the longstanding problem of improper payments by federal agencies in benefits and other programs.
One, HR-8343, would put into law GAO recommendations for more detailed and timely reporting requirements in new federal spending programs, in particular those involving outlays of more than $100 million in their first three years. They would be designated by default as susceptible to making significant amounts of improper payments and subject more stringent oversight.
The bill also would require agencies to report on their antifraud controls and fraud risk management efforts in their annual financial reports to Congress, and require the White House’s annual budget request to disclose information on agencies and programs that are not compliant with reporting requirements.
The other, HR-8342, would require that the budget request include additional information and context on waste, fraud, and abuse of federal funds. That would include a detailed explanation of why any improper payments occurred; trends in improper payment amounts and rates over a three-year period; what corrective actions agencies are taking and the status of those actions, including those that are incomplete.
Sponsors noted a GAO estimate from earlier this year of $236 billion in improper payments in fiscal 2023—an estimate it said likely was low because it did not include certain programs susceptible to significant improper payments such as HHS’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. Of the total, 74 percent were overpayments versus 5 percent underpayments, with 2 percent “technically improper” for reasons such as missing documentation, with the rest unclear.
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