Carper, Johnson, Peters, Braun Applaud House Passage of Bipartisan Bill to Crackdown on Hundreds of Billions of Dollars in Improper Payments

In FY 2018 alone, improper payments throughout the federal government totaled over $151 billion 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senators Tom Carper (D-Del.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Chairman and Ranking Member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, respectively, and Mike Braun (R-Ind.) applauded passage of the Payment Integrity Information Act of 2019 in the U.S. House of Representatives. The bipartisan legislation aims to cut down on government waste and improper payments made by the federal government – including overpayments, underpayments, payments made to ineligible recipients or payments that were not properly documented. The bill, which now heads to the President’s desk, passed the Senate unanimously in July 2019.

“At a time when our country is facing record debt and deficits, it is simply unacceptable that federal agencies continue to make billions of dollars in improper payments. As elected officials, one of our most important responsibilities is to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars, and we know that we can and must be doing better on that front,” said Senator Carper. “That’s why, for years, I have worked to make it a priority across the federal government to root out and eliminate billions of dollars in waste, fraud and abuse. Today, I’m proud that my bipartisan bill to take the common sense steps necessary to reduce improper payments has now unanimously passed the U.S. House of Representatives. I want to thank Senators Johnson, Peters, Braun, Chairwoman Maloney of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, and the staffs of each of these members, for working with me and my staff on this important bipartisan bill that is finally on its way to the President’s desk. I’m glad we were able to get this important bill across the finish line here in Congress, and I would urge the President to act swiftly to sign this legislation into law.”

“Improper payments by the federal government cost taxpayers billions of dollars, and the bureaucratic processes put in place to reduce these errors have not worked,” said Chairman Johnson. “This legislation streamlines laws so government agencies can focus on finding the root cause of this wasteful spending and fix it.”

“Michiganders expect their taxpayer dollars to be used wisely, but the federal government has failed to rein in billions of dollars in improper spending,” said Senator Peters. “I am pleased that our House colleagues supported our commonsense, bipartisan effort to ensure that taxpayer dollars are used effectively and efficiently, and look forward to this important bill being signed into law.”

“The Payment Integrity Information Act of 2019 will reduce billions of dollars of improper payments from the federal government and I’m thankful this legislation will be signed into law by President Trump who continues to keep his promise of draining the swamp in Washington,” said Senator Mike Braun.

In Fiscal Year 2018 alone, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) estimated that improper payments throughout the federal government totaled over $151 billion. Since 2003, when agencies were first directed to begin reporting improper payments, cumulative improper payment estimates across government have totaled over $1.4 trillion. For Fiscal Year 2018, which is the most recent data available, federal entities estimated about $151 billion in improper payments, an unacceptably high number which has increased over the last several fiscal years. 

Specifically, the Payment Integrity Information Act of 2019 would:

• Require agencies to undertake additional efforts and develop plans to prevent improper payments before they happen.
• Improve the way agencies identify programs with the highest risk of improper payments.
• Require the Office of Management and Budget and the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE) to issue guidance to improve annual reporting on agencies’ compliance with improper payments statutes.
• Create a working group that will enable federal agencies to collaborate with each other and non-federal partners, such as state governments, to develop strategies for addressing key drivers of improper payments, such as fraud and eligibility determinations in state-managed federal benefits programs.  

Read the legislation here.