Senators Carper, Tillis Applaud Passage of Bipartisan Bill to Help Federal Agencies Better Detect and Prevent Fraud

WASHINGTON – Today, Senator Tom Carper (D-Del), the top Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) applauded the Senate for passing S. 2133, the Fraud Reduction and Data Analytics Bill, which will help federal agencies better detect and prevent fraud. The bipartisan bill, introduced by Senators Carper and Tillis and cosponsored by Senators Baldwin (D-Wis), Johnson (R-Wis), McCaskill (D-Mo), and Ayotte (R-NH), requires the Office of Management and Budget, in coordination with the Government Accountability Office (GAO), to issue guidelines for agencies to establish and implement controls to prevent, detect, and respond to fraud.

“We have a responsibility to ensure that federal agencies do a better job managing federal programs and delivering services more efficiently and at a lower cost,” said Senator Carper. “This bill will, among other things, require federal officials to determine what areas of government spending are at the greatest risk for fraud, develop an action plan to address vulnerabilities, and then share those solutions across agencies with similar programs. I thank my Senate colleagues for passing this common sense and bipartisan legislation in a timely manner and urge the House to do the same.”

“This bill utilizes the lessons learned from the success of the private sector in fighting waste and fraud, and will ultimately help protect federal, taxpayer-supported programs by identifying vulnerabilities and closing the gaps,” said Senator Tillis. “I’m pleased that the Senate came together to pass legislation that will require more accountability for federal agencies and better protect Americans and their hard-earned tax dollars from the risk of fraud.”

Specifically, the Fraud Reduction and Data Analytics Bill creates a working group to improve the sharing of information on best practices, data analytics and techniques among agencies to better detect and prevent fraud in real time rather than during the end of the year audit. An amendment offered by Senators Carper and Tillis aligns the bill with the companion legislation offered in the House, H.R. 4180, Fraud Reduction and Data Analytics Act of 2015.  The language offered will allow OMB to add additional members, such as the Chief Information Officer, Chief Procurement Officer or Chief Operating Officer, to the working group.