[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8463 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8463
To establish governmentwide requirements for pre-payment fraud
prevention actions, to provide the U.S. Treasury appropriate data
resources, to facilitate participation in governmentwide anti-fraud
data sharing, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 23, 2026
Mr. Comer (for himself and Mr. Arrington) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government
Reform, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a
period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the
committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish governmentwide requirements for pre-payment fraud
prevention actions, to provide the U.S. Treasury appropriate data
resources, to facilitate participation in governmentwide anti-fraud
data sharing, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Pre-Payment Fraud Prevention and
Treasury Data Access Act''.
SEC. 2. PRE-PAYMENT FRAUD PREVENTION REQUIREMENTS FOR AGENCIES.
(a) Establishment of Pre-Payment Agency Responsibilities.--
(1) Amendment.--Chapter 33 of title 31, United States Code,
is amended by inserting after section 3325 the following:
``Sec. 3325a. Agency duties for fraud and improper payment prevention
before the issuance of a payment voucher request
``(a) Mandatory Actions Before Issuing a Payment Voucher.--The head
of an agency, or an officer or employee described in section
3325(a)(1)(B), may not certify a voucher under section 3325 until the
following requirements are met:
``(1) Each pre-certification requirement described in
subsection (b) for such payment request.
``(2) Confirmation is provided that the payment complies
with any disbursement requirement and instruction, including
any pre-certification requirement, published by the Secretary
of the Treasury.
``(3) Confirmation is provided that any other appropriate
payment, account, and payee validation program or service that
the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the
Director, requires to reduce fraud and an improper payment
resulting in financial loss to the Government, including any
agency evaluation of the fraud-risk indicator of a program
required under section 3352 and agency procedures required
under section 3554(b)(1), have been conducted, in accordance
with necessary exceptions for statutory, policy, or operational
reasons.
``(b) Payment Verification Pre-Certification Requirements.--Not
later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this section,
and as needed thereafter, the Secretary of the Treasury shall, in
consultation with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget,
issue regulations, and guidance as necessary, for the pre-certification
requirements of this section, for vouchers certified under section
3325, including any deadline for pre-certification information and
related records to be submitted to the requisite Treasury official and
disbursing official under subchapter IV of this chapter, before the
date of disbursement in order to allow for sufficient time to meet the
requirements of this section, including the following:
``(1) Funds are available at the time the obligation is
incurred and if an obligation is incurred when funds are not
available, then the agency may not certify the payment voucher.
``(2) The amount of the payment and the name of the payee
on the payment voucher are correct, in conformance with the
prescribed standard format.
``(3) A valid social security number, taxpayer
identification number, employer identification number,
individual taxpayer identification number, or payee ID number
is provided for each payee on the voucher, if applicable.
``(4) The appropriation or fund from which the payment will
be made is available for the purpose described in the voucher
and indicated with the appropriate Treasury Account Symbol or
Business Event Type Code.
``(5) A payee is not deceased, if the payment would be
improperly made to a deceased payee.
``(6) The account number, if any, provided on the payment
voucher is held at a financial institution and is open, valid,
and belongs to the payee or a valid designee of the payee.
``(7) Any other identifier in conformance with the payment
verification pre-certification requirements established by the
Secretary of the Treasury, which may include the Procurement
Instrument Identified and the Federal Award Identification
Number.
``(c) Return of Payment Voucher.--The Secretary, in consultation
with the Director, shall issue guidance and establish procedures to
authorize the Chief Disbursing Officer of the Department of the
Treasury, or an agency disbursing official, to return to the relevant
agency certifying official, including a notification to the agency, any
payment or payment voucher issued under section 3325 which does not
comply with pre-certification verification requirements established
under this section as determined by the Secretary.
``(d) Agency Requests for Exemptions.--The Secretary of the
Treasury shall include in the guidance issued under subsection (b), or
in other regulations or guidance issued under this chapter, a process
for agencies to request exemptions from some or all of the payment
verification requirements for specific payments or categories of
payments under this section. Any approved exemption shall be documented
in any related payment voucher certified under section 3325 for the
duration of the exemption.''.
(2) Technical and conforming amendment.--The table of
sections for chapter 33 of title 31, United States Codes, is
amended by inserting after the item for section 3325 the
following:
``3325a. Agency duties for fraud and improper payment prevention prior
to issuing a payment voucher request.''.
(b) Amendment to Responsibilities of Agency Certifying Official for
Payment Vouchers.--Section 3528(a) of title 31, United States Code, is
amended--
(1) in paragraph (2), by inserting after ``of this title''
the following: ``, including pre-certification requirement
described in section 3325a'';
(2) by redesignating paragraphs (4) and (5) as paragraphs
(5) and (6), respectively; and
(3) by inserting after paragraph (3) the following:
``(4) Ensuring that--
``(A) the agency has complied with the requirements
of section 3325a and subchapter IV of this title; and
``(B) a covered recipient is in compliance with the
reporting requirements under section 6107.''.
(c) Prepayment Requirements of Payment Disbursing Officials.--
Section 3325 of title 31, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in subsection (d) by striking ``taxpayer identifying
number of each person'' and inserting ``information required to
be submitted under section 3325a(b) of each payee''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(e)(1) Before certifying a voucher to a disbursing official, the
head of an agency or an officer or employee of an agency described in
subparagraph (A) or (B) of subsection (a)(1), as applicable, shall take
necessary actions to accurately disburse payments to the recipients of
those payments, including by--
``(A) verifying the accuracy of the bank account
information to which a payment is to be disbursed, to
the extent practicable; and
``(B) comparing the bank account information of the
proposed recipient to other payment records available
to the agency, to the extent practicable.
``(2) The Secretary of the Treasury shall issue guidance to
carry out this subsection, which may be carried out through any
guidance issued for section 3325a(b).''.
(d) Requirements and Authorities of Payment Disbursing Officials.--
Paragraph (3) of section 3325(a) of title 31, United States Code, is
amended--
(1) by inserting ``, compliance with an order to pause a
payment pursuant to section 3337(b),'' after ``except for the
correctness of computations on a voucher''; and
(2) by striking ``,,'' and inserting a comma.
(e) Addition of Fraud Prevention Indicators to Agency Improper
Payment Risk Assessments.--
(1) Definitions amendments.--Section 3351 of title 31,
United States Code is amended--
(A) in paragraph (3)--
(i) in the heading, by striking
``Initiative'' and inserting ``System'';
(ii) by striking ``Initiative'' and
inserting ``System''; and
(iii) by striking ``initiative'' and
inserting ``system''; and
(B) by adding the following in the appropriate
alphabetical order and redesignating the paragraphs
accordingly:
``(9) Appropriate authorizing and appropriations committees
of congress.--The term `appropriate authorizing and
appropriations committees of Congress' means the following:
``(A) The Committees on Appropriations of the
Senate and the House of Representatives.
``(B) The Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs of the Senate.
``(C) The Committee on Oversight and Government
Reform of the House of Representatives.
``(D) The Budget Committee of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on the Budget of the
Senate.
``(D) Any other relevant congressional committee of
jurisdiction.
``(10) Director.--The term `Director' means the Director of
the Office of Management and Budget.
``(11) Fraud-risk indicator.--The term `fraud-risk
indicator' means an objective data point or analytic signal
that indicates an anomalous payment pattern or increase in the
volume of a payment amount, a verified data mismatch, network
or behavioral anomaly, or match identified by the Do Not Pay
system and any other payment, account, and payee validation
program or service provided by the Department of the Treasury
that would result in financial loss to the Government.''.
(2) Amendment.--Section 3352(a)(1) of title 31, United
States Code, is amended--
(A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``; and'' and
inserting a semicolon;
(B) in subparagraph (B), by striking the period at
the end and inserting ``; and''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(C) design and apply fraud-risk indicators to the
programs identified under paragraph (A).''.
SEC. 3. TREASURY DO NOT PAY SYSTEM.
(a) Amendment.--Section 3354 of title 31, United States Code, is
amended--
(1) in the heading, by striking ``Initiative'' and
inserting ``System'';
(2) in subsection (a)--
(A) by amending paragraph (1) to read as follows:
``(1) In general.--The head of each executive agency shall
establish and maintain appropriate preaward and prepayment
procedures to prevent and recover improper payments, including
payments resulting in financial loss to the Government, and to
prevent financial fraud. Such procedures shall include, at a
minimum--
``(A) screening all persons or entities that
receive, or seek to receive, Federal awards or payments
against all appropriate Do Not Pay system data assets,
including data assets described in paragraph (2)(a),
and risk tools before an award is made or a payment
request is submitted to the disbursing officer in
accordance with section 3325a; and
``(B) a periodic review of available data assets
and notification to the Secretary of any data asset
that the agency requires access to, either directly or
through the Do Not Pay system.'';
(B) in paragraph (2)--
(i) by striking ``At a minimum and before
issuing any payment or award, each executive
agency shall review as appropriate the
following databases to verify eligibility of
the payment and award:'' and inserting the
following: ``Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, including the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986, the Social Security Act,
and the Personal Responsibility and Work
Opportunity Reconciliation Act, the Secretary
shall have access to the following data assets
and incorporate them in the Do Not Pay system,
without the need to pursue designation under
paragraph (3), for the sole purposes of
improper payment prevention and detection:'';
and
(ii) by adding at the end the following:
``(G) The National Directory of New Hires pursuant
to section 453(j) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
653(j)).
``(H) Information made available to such head
pursuant to a request made under section 6103(i)(9)(A)
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
``(I) Information made available to the Secretary
of Treasury by the Commissioner of Social Security
pursuant to section 235 of the Social Security Act.'';
and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(3) Additional data assets.--
``(A) Designation.--The Secretary may designate
additional categories of data assets for inclusion in
the Do Not Pay system to address risks of fraud and
improper payments.
``(B) Privacy and notice.--In designating data
assets that include personally identifiable
information, law enforcement sensitive information, or
information subject to section 552a of title 5, the
Secretary shall--
``(i) act in coordination with the Director
of the Office of Management and Budget; and
``(ii) provide public notice and an
opportunity for comment for not less than 30
days prior to designation.
``(C) Database inclusion.--Following designation of
a category of data assets under subparagraph (A), the
Secretary shall provide public notice and an
opportunity for comment for not less than 30 days
before adding any specific data asset within such
category.
``(D) Non-sensitive data.--Data assets that do not
include personally identifiable or law enforcement
sensitive information may be added at the discretion of
the Secretary without designation if a list of such
data sets is disclosed to the public on a public
website maintained by the Department of the Treasury.
``(4) Treatment of data matching for purposes of agency use
of do not pay system.--For purposes of section 552a of title 5,
or any other provision of law, a computerized comparison of two
or more automated Federal systems of records, or a computerized
comparison of a Federal system of records with other records or
non-Federal records, carried out by the Secretary to verify
payments or identify or recover improper payments under this
section shall not be considered a matching program.
``(5) Limitation on use.--Information obtained through the
Do Not Pay system may be used solely for the purposes described
in paragraph (1), or for Federal or State law enforcement or
investigative purposes. Any officer, employee, contractor,
subcontractor, or agent of a Federal or State entity may not
publish, examine for a purpose not explicitly authorized under
this section, or communicate such information furnished in such
data assets other than in fulfillment of the purposes of this
section.
``(6) Penalty for unlawful disclosure.--Any person
described in paragraph (5) who knowingly and willfully
discloses information in violation of that paragraph shall be
fined not more than $5,000, imprisoned not more than 5 years,
or both.
``(7) Exception when payment otherwise required under
law.--The head of an executive agency may be exempt from the
requirements of paragraph (1) if a Federal statute expressly
requires that a payment or award be made notwithstanding
potential ineligibility, and the agency head notifies the
Secretary of the Treasury and the Director of the Office of
Management and Budget prior to certification of the payment
under section 3325.
``(8) Definition.--In this section, the term `data asset'
has the meaning given that term in section 3502(17) of title
44.''; and
(3) by striking subsections (b) through (e) and inserting
the following:
``(b) Establishment of System.--The Secretary of the Treasury shall
establish and maintain a Do Not Pay system, which shall be administered
and operated by the Fiscal Service of the Department of the Treasury.
The Do Not Pay system shall include--
``(1) the data assets described in subsection (a)(2); and
``(2) such other data assets as the Secretary of the
Treasury may designate, in consultation with the Director of
the Office of Management and Budget, to assist agencies in