Fraud Prevention and Accountability Act
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The bill would create a permanent Office of Inspector General for Fraud, Accountability, and Recovery within the Treasury Department, replacing the pandemic-era oversight committee, and would assign the Bureau of the Fiscal Service new fraud-prevention and data-sharing duties across federal programs.
It would require agencies to share fraud and payment data with Treasury, expand the definition of funds subject to anti-fraud oversight beyond pandemic relief, and set up permanent reporting and coordination requirements meant to catch improper payments before they occur.
What this bill would do
What it would do
The bill would rewrite the law governing the Bureau of the Fiscal Service to give it formal responsibility for administering the Do Not Pay verification system and a governmentwide data-sharing and fraud-analysis program for federal, state, local, and tribal agencies. It would also create a new, permanent Office of the Inspector General for Fraud, Accountability, and Recovery inside Treasury, led by a Senate-confirmed Inspector General, to audit and investigate the use of "covered funds" — including pandemic-era relief, large federal awards over $50,000, infrastructure and other major spending laws, and disaster or economic-recovery spending. It would require data-sharing agreements between Treasury and other agencies or private entities.
The bill would transfer the assets, staff, and functions of the existing Pandemic Response Accountability Committee to the new office by December 31, 2028, and would terminate that committee on that date. It authorizes $10,000,000 annually for the new office beginning in fiscal year 2035, and requires various reports and OMB guidance but does not itself appropriate ongoing operating funds before that date.
Key provisions
- 1Would assign the Bureau of the Fiscal Service responsibility for the Do Not Pay verification system and a governmentwide fraud-data-sharing and analysis program
- 2Would establish a permanent, Senate-confirmed Office of the Inspector General for Fraud, Accountability, and Recovery within Treasury with governmentwide audit and investigative authority over covered funds
- 3Would require Treasury to enter data-sharing agreements with federal agencies, inspectors general, law enforcement, and allowable private entities to prevent fraud and improper payments
- 4Would require OMB and Treasury to provide Congress legislative recommendations on fraud-prevention safeguards for large supplemental spending or new programs exceeding specified funding thresholds
- 5Would terminate the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee on December 31, 2028 and transfer its assets, staff, and data platform to the new Inspector General's office
- 6Would authorize $10,000,000 annually beginning in fiscal year 2035 to fund the new Inspector General's office
Who would be affected
Federal agencies that disburse funds, recipients of federal awards of $50,000 or more, state and local governments and tribal governments administering federally funded programs, the Treasury Department and Bureau of the Fiscal Service, the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee and its staff, and private entities that enter data-sharing agreements with Treasury.
Why it matters
Agencies and grant recipients would face new data-sharing and screening requirements meant to catch fraud before payments go out, while a newly empowered Inspector General would gain permanent, governmentwide audit and investigative authority over trillions in past and future federal spending, extending well beyond the pandemic-relief programs the prior oversight body covered.
What would change
Changes to existing law
Amends 31 U.S.C. § 306 (Sec. 2)
Rewrites the section to assign the Bureau of the Fiscal Service new fraud-prevention, Do Not Pay administration, and data-sharing duties
Amends 31 U.S.C. § 3354 (Sec. 2(b))
Requires coordination with the Secretary of the Treasury in designating Do Not Pay databases
Amends Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (Sec. 2(c))
Changes discretionary 'may' to mandatory 'shall' for the data analysis center authorization
Creates Title 31, U.S.C., chapter 3, subchapter I (Sec. 3)
Adds new section 317 establishing the Office of Inspector General for Fraud, Accountability, and Recovery
Amends 31 U.S.C. § 321 (Sec. 4)
Adds authority for Fiscal Service to enter data-sharing agreements and requires legislative fraud-prevention recommendations for large spending bills
Repeals CARES Act (Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, Sec. 15010) (Sec. 5)
Moves the committee's termination date to December 31, 2028 and repeals the section, transferring its assets to the new office
Agencies directed to act
Effective dates
- New Inspector General office and related amendments take effect
- OMB directive requiring agencies to report on fraud-data-tool use
- OMB and Treasury must update guidance implementing data-sharing section
- Pandemic Response Accountability Committee terminates and its assets transfer to the new office
- Treasury's biennial-then-annual report on the fraud data-sharing program's effectiveness
Funding and costs
- $10,000,000
annual funding for the Office of the Inspector General for Fraud, Accountability, and Recovery
Congressional Budget Office estimate
CBO estimates H.R. 8312 would cost $18 million in discretionary spending (spending subject to annual appropriations) over the 2026–2036 period, with no net effect on direct (mandatory) spending or revenues.
CBO estimates the bill would have no net effect on direct spending (mandatory outlays) or revenues over the 2026–2036 period. The main cost driver is a new $10 million annual authorization—beginning in 2035—to fund the Office of the Inspector General for Fraud, Accountability, and Recovery, which would absorb the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee's responsibilities and resources starting in 2029; assuming those amounts are appropriated, CBO estimates $18 million in discretionary outlays over the scoring window. CBO could not determine the magnitude of potential savings from reduced fraudulent payments because it lacks sufficient information about how the bill would be implemented relative to existing authorities, including a recent executive order. The bill contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates.
How implementation would work
Treasury's Fiscal Service would build and operate a centralized fraud-data and screening system, entering memoranda of understanding with other agencies and private entities to access data assets. The new Inspector General, once Senate-confirmed, would inherit the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee's staff, contracts, and data platform by the December 31, 2028 effective date, form an advisory committee of other inspectors general, and issue periodic and annual reports to Congress. OMB must issue implementing guidance within 270 days of enactment and, by March 2029, direct agencies to report on their use of Fiscal Service data tools. The office must report suspected criminal violations to the Justice Department.
Legislative status & sources
Latest action
Received in the Senate.
Official CRS summary
Show the CRS summaryHide the CRS summary
This bill (1) assigns financial integrity, improper payment prevention, and spending transparency functions to the Bureau of the Fiscal Service (BFS) within the Department of the Treasury; (2) establishes an Office of the Inspector General for Fraud, Accountability, and Recovery (OIGFAR) within Treasury; and (3) requires Treasury to enter into data sharing agreements with other federal agencies and allowable private entities to prevent fraud and improper payments.
Functions assigned to BFS by the bill include
- administering the Do Not Pay system (which provides federal agencies and federally funded state-administered programs the ability to verify recipient identity and eligibility before making an award or issuing a payment);
- maintaining a voluntary governmentwide program to provide data sharing and analysis to federal agencies and to state, local, or tribal governments responsible for administering a federally funded program in order to detect fraud and prevent improper payments that result in financial loss; and
- supporting OIGFAR by providing access to information technology and data.
The duties of OIGFAR include auditing and investigating the use of certain federal funds, such as
- funds, loans, and tax credits made available by various coronavirus response laws;
- any federal award of $50,000 or more; and
- emergency spending related to disaster relief or economic recovery.
OIGFAR must ensure the expeditious reporting of suspected violations of federal criminal law to the Department of Justice. OIGFAR is authorized to provide investigative support to prosecutive and enforcement authorities to protect program integrity and prevent, detect, and prosecute fraud.
Legislative subjects
Accounting and auditing; Advisory bodies; Computers and information technology; Congressional oversight; Data collection, sharing, protection; Department of the Treasury; Executive agency funding and structure; Federal officials; Fraud offenses and financial crimes; Government Operations and Politics; Intergovernmental relations; Internet, web applications, social media
Committee report
H. Rept. 119-683