{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://blakemoore.house.gov/media/press-releases/moore-spanberger-reintroduce-bipartisan-bill-prevent-wasteful-government", "Moore, Spanberger Reintroduce Bipartisan Bill to Prevent Wasteful Government Spending, Reduce Improper Payments", "2023-02-08", "2023", "2023-02", "Republican", "House", "UT", "Blake D. Moore", "M001213", "blakemoore.house.gov", "blakemoore", "https://blakemoore.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2014 U.S. Representatives Blake Moore (R-UT) and Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) reintroduced bipartisan legislation for the 118th Congress to prevent the waste, fraud, and abuse of federal funds.\n\nThe rate of improper payments \u2014 or payments made by the government that should not have been disbursed or were disbursed in the incorrect amount \u2014 has consistently been an issue across the federal government. These improper payments have also been a significant concern related to COVID-19 pandemic relief programs. For Fiscal Year 2021 (FY2021), the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported that federal agencies had distributed an estimated $281 billion in improper payments \u2014 an increase of about $75 billion from FY2020. The Preventing Improper Payments Act would create safeguards to reduce improper payments for new federal spending programs.\n\n\"As our national debt and deficit crises worsen, it is imperative that we ensure federal agencies spend each dollar of taxpayer funds toward its intended purpose,\u201d said Congressman Moore. \u201cCongress owes it to the American people to ensure their hard-earned dollars are stewarded responsibly, and I am proud to continue this effort with Congresswoman Spanberger in the 118th Congress.\"\n\n\u201cIt is essential that federal assistance ends up where it is intended,\u201d said Congresswoman Spanberger. \u201cCongress created new programs in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic to help small business and local restaurant owners keep their doors open and keep their employees on payroll, help healthcare providers protect themselves and care for their patients, and allow Americans to keep themselves and their families safe during a global health emergency. Unfortunately, we heard reports of those funds ending up in the wrong hands. But this issue did not materialize alongside the COVID-19 pandemic. Improper payments of federal funds have long hurt the Americans that federal programs are intended to assist. We must work to better protect taxpayer dollars and the integrity of these programs. I am grateful to my colleague, Congressman Blake Moore, for joining me to introduce bipartisan legislation that would cut down on the wasteful spending and the abuse of federal funds.\u201d\n\nThe Preventing Improper Payments Act is supported by the Utah Taxpayers Association, the National Taxpayers Union (NTU), the Project On Government Oversight (POGO), Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA), the R Street Institute, and Americans for Prosperity.\n\n\u201cThe Utah Taxpayers Association salutes Congressman Moore and Congresswoman Spanberger for leading the way in addressing the billions in losses that taxpayers are shouldered with,\u201d said Rusty Cannon, President of the Utah Taxpayers Association. \u201cThe Preventing Improper Payments Act will be a benefit to taxpayers across the nation and we urge all members of Congress to support it.\u201d\n\n\u201cImproper payments in government programs hurt taxpayers and often hurt the people these programs serve,\u201d said Andrew Lautz, Director of Federal Policy, NTU. \u201cNational Taxpayers Union applauds Representatives Blake Moore and Abigail Spanberger for introducing the Preventing Improper Payments Act, which would require more federal programs to report to Congress on their anti-fraud and risk management efforts to actually reduce improper payments.\u201d\n\n\u201cOne of the most important responsibilities of a member of Congress \u2013 and of the institution as a whole \u2013 is to be a good and responsible steward of taxpayer dollars,\u201d said Dylan Hedtler-Gaudette, Government Affairs Manager, POGO. \u201cOversight mechanisms and guardrails against waste, fraud, and abuse in the spending of those taxpayer dollars are essential to delivering on this responsibility. Rep. Moore and Rep. Spanberger should be applauded for leading the way on this bill and protecting the public from wasted spending via improper payments, which will help ensure that precious public funds can be instead used for vital public investment.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) applauds Reps. Blake Moore (R-UT) and Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) for introducing the Preventing Improper Payments Act,\u201d said David Williams, President, TPA. \u201cEstimates show that criminals stole upwards of $80 billion \u2013 or 10 percent \u2013 of all Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds during the pandemic, as well as over $45 billion in unemployment insurance. This legislation takes the necessary steps to ensure effective oversight of public funds. TPA encourages members to join Reps. Spanberger and Moore in protecting federal programs from fraud and abuse.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe R Street Institute is pleased to endorse the bipartisan Preventing Improper Payments Act,\u201d said Nan Swift, Resident Fellow, Governance Program, R Street Institute. \u201cDecades of oversight from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) have highlighted that as government spending increases, so too does the risk of improper government payments. GAO recommends that new federal programs that dispense more than $100 million in a fiscal year be designated as susceptible to improper payments. Codifying this recommendation into law is a welcome step, and this preemptive action, along with reinstating expired reporting requirements, will help prevent unnecessary oversight delays and reduce wasteful and fraudulent spending. We urge all Members of Congress to support this legislation.\u201d\n\nSpecifically, the Preventing Improper Payments Act would:\n\nDesignate all new federal programs making more than $100 million in payments in any one fiscal year as \u201csusceptible to significant improper payments\u201d for the first three years of operation;\n\nSubject these programs to more timely improper payment reporting requirements; and\n\nReinstate the requirement that agencies report on their antifraud controls and fraud risk management efforts in their annual financial reports to Congress.\n\nClick hereto read the full bill text.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T23:18:08Z"]], "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/moore-spanberger-reintroduce-bipartisan-bill-prevent-wasteful-government"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.151813892647624, "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"}