{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://blakemoore.house.gov/media/press-releases/congressman-blake-moore-introduces-bipartisan-legislation-to-prevent-the-waste-fraud-and-abuse-of-federal-funds", "Congressman Blake Moore Introduces Bipartisan Legislation to Prevent the Waste, Fraud, and Abuse of Federal Funds", "2024-05-13", "2024", "2024-05", "Republican", "House", "UT", "Blake D. Moore", "M001213", "blakemoore.house.gov", "blakemoore", "https://blakemoore.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 Congressman Blake Moore (R-UT) and Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) introduced bipartisan legislation to prevent the waste, fraud, and abuse of federal funds. H.R. 8343, the Enhancing Improper Payment Accountability Act, would support the protection of taxpayer dollars by enacting more comprehensive reporting requirements for new federal spending programs and ensuring all programs are compliant with current reporting standards. In-depth information on programs and activities susceptible to improper payments will provide Congress and executive branch agencies the necessary tools to detect and prevent improper payments.\n\n\u201cOver 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,\u201d said Congressman Blake Moore. \u201cThat is why I am pleased to introduce the Enhancing Improper Payment Accountability Act as part of the House Budget Committee\u2019s package to tackle improper payments. 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. There are plenty of messaging bills in Congress, but this bill is squarely focused on addressing a major issue within our spending crisis.\u201d\n\n\u201cVirginia taxpayers and Americans across our country deserve to trust that their federal tax dollars are going toward their intended purpose. Unfortunately, we continue to receive reports of payments that should not have been made or have been made in the wrong amount,\u201d said Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger. \u201cImproper payments and fraud not only hurt American taxpayers \u2014 but also hurt the members of our communities who federal programs are created to assist and diminish public trust in the federal government\u2019s role managing taxpayer dollars. Congress has a responsibility to both stand up programs that address the pressing needs of Americans and protect their hard-earned dollars.\u201d\n\nSpecifically, the Enhancing Improper Payment Accountability Act would:\n\nDesignate all new federal spending programs making more than $100 million in payments annually in the first three fiscal years as \u201csusceptible to significant improper payments\u201d in their initial four years of operation;\n\nSubject these programs to more stringent and timely improper payment reporting requirements;\n\nRequire agencies to report on their antifraud controls and fraud risk management efforts in their annual financial reports to Congress; and\n\nRequire the President\u2019s budget request to disclose information on agencies and programs that are required to report on improper payments but do not do so.\n\nSupporting groups include: the Utah Taxpayers Association, the Audient Group, Bipartisan Policy Center Action, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, LexisNexis Risk Solutions, the National Taxpayers Union, the Project On Government Oversight, and the Taxpayers Protection Alliance.\n\nBackground\n\nAccording to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), improper payments are any payments \u201cthat should not have been made or were made in the incorrect amount.\u201d Since Fiscal Year (FY) 2003, the federal government has made a cumulative $2.7 trillion in improper payments.\n\nEach year, the federal government makes hundreds of billions in improper payments. In FY 2023 alone, 14 federal agencies reported a total of $236 billion in improper payments across 71 government programs.\n\nAs new programs are created and federal spending soars, so does the risk of improper payments. Annual improper payments have increased from $106 billion in FY 2013 to $247 billion in FY 2022.\n\nThe true cost to the federal government of improper payments is likely even higher than current data indicates, as some programs that agencies have determined are susceptible to significant improper payments do not report estimates.\n\nThe Enhancing Improper Payment Accountability Act would address wasteful and fraudulent spending by codifying recommendations from the GAO for more stringent and timely reporting requirements in new federal spending programs and directing the President\u2019s budget request to disclose information on agencies and programs that are noncompliant with current reporting requirements. All of this would reinforce the role of Congress and federal agencies in reducing the occurrence of improper payments.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T21:01:11Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://blakemoore.house.gov/media/press-releases/congressman-blake-moore-introduces-bipartisan-legislation-to-prevent-the-waste-fraud-and-abuse-of-federal-funds"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.8118929583579302, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}