A bipartisan group of lawmakers are sponsoring a bill that seeks to strengthen transparency and accuracy in improper payment reporting.
The Improper Payments Transparency Act (H.R. 1771) would direct the President’s budget request to include the amounts and rates of improper payments at each executive agency. It would also direct the budget to have a detailed explanation of trends, and a summary of any corrective actions taken to address improper payments.
Including this data in the budget would correct the gaps in improper payment reporting. That, in turn, would streamline funding to essential government programs and reduce waste.
“Government waste and fraud continue to drain taxpayer dollars at an alarming rate, undermining public trust and fiscal responsibility. I’m proud to reintroduce this common sense, bipartisan bill to increase transparency and combat improper payments,” Rep. Rudy Yakym (R-IN), one of the bill’s sponsors, said. “The American people deserve full transparency and accountability in how their hard-earned money is spent, and this legislation is a crucial step toward ensuring responsible stewardship of taxpayer funds.”
The bill I cosponsored by Reps. Jack Bergman (R-MI), Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), and Scott Peters (D-CA).
“I’m proud to join Rep. Yakym in introducing this vital legislation to rein in out-of-control spending of taxpayer dollars in Washington,” Bergman said. “To get our country back on a fiscally responsible track and ensure Americans are keeping more of their hard-earned money, we must quickly eliminate waste within the federal government.”
Since 2003, the federal government has made $2.8 trillion in improper payments. In fiscal year 2023, 14 federal agencies reported a total of $236 billion in improper payments across 71 government programs.
The lawmakers say payment reporting requirements are severely lacking. In FY 2023, GAO identified eight programs as susceptible to significant improper payments that were required to report improper payment estimates but did not do so.
Further, GAO also found that 10 of the 24 largest executive branch agencies did not fully comply with reporting criteria as governed by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Payment Integrity Information Act.
“Over the past two decades, the federal government has made more than $2.8 trillion in improper payments, errors that waste taxpayer dollars and undermine public trust,” Panetta said. “Our bipartisan Improper Payments Transparency Act would ensure the President’s annual budget request provides detailed reporting on these payments, giving Congress and the American people a clearer picture of where and why these mistakes happen.”
Peters added that many improper payments happen because doctors miscode services when submitting paperwork to Medicare, or because a Social Security beneficiary didn’t receive their check in the correct amount.
“We do need government efficiency, but we need to do it in a way that is within the bounds of the law,” Peters said. “The Improper Payments Transparency Act will ensure future Presidents’ budget requests include more detail on what is actually happening with improper payments — so Congress can start doing its job.”