Senator Carper’s Legislation Aimed at Eliminating Waste and Protecting American Taxpayers Passed Out of Committee

WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee unanimously passed U.S. Senator Tom Carper’s (D-Del.) bipartisan legislation aimed at creating transparency in the American government. The Safeguarding the Transparency and Efficiency of Payments (STEP) Act would create more government accountability by combatting and deterring improper payments in any federal program making more than $100 million.

“We have a responsibility to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars, and this bill puts us on a path to do just that,” said Senator Carper. “I thank my colleagues on the Committee for favorably voting on this commonsense, bipartisan legislation, and look forward to its consideration by the full Senate.”

Senator Carper first introduced the STEP Act with Senator Mike Braun (R-Ind.) in September 2023.

Senator Carper, a senior member and former Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC), has spent his time in office working to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse in government. Last May HSGAC passed two of Senator Carper’s bills including the Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People Act, which would curb erroneous federal payments to individuals who have passed away and save American taxpayers millions of dollars, and the Federal Employees Health Benefits Protection Act, which aims to reduce fraud within the largest employer-sponsored health insurance program by auditing the enrolled population and removing ineligible individuals. Additionally, in 2019, Senator Carper’s Payment Integrity Information Act of 2019 was signed into law. The legislation cut down on government waste and mitigated $237 billion in improper payments, saving taxpayers billions.

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