Strengthens Fraud Prevention for Payments

Official: Pre-Payment Fraud Prevention and Treasury Data Access Act

IntroducedApril 23, 2026

Government Operations and PoliticsAdministrative law and regulatory proceduresCongressional oversightGovernment information and archivesState and local government operationsIntergovernmental relationsSocial security and elderly assistanceTax administration and collection, taxpayersFraud offenses and financial crimesRight of privacyDepartment of the TreasuryOffice of Management and Budget (OMB)Data collection, sharing, protection

Why This Matters

This bill establishes stricter rules for government agencies to follow before making payments to ensure they are not fraudulent or incorrect.

If you work in a government agency, you must follow new verification steps to prevent fraud before issuing payments.

Affects: This bill affects government employees responsible for processing payments and the taxpayers who fund these payments.

Summary

Pre-Payment Fraud Prevention and Treasury Data Access Act This bill expands efforts to identify, prevent, and recover improper payments of federal funds (e. g., overpayments, underpayments, payments to ineligible recipients). Specifically, the Department of the Treasury must establish certain requirements that agencies must meet before directing Treasury to make a payment of federal funds. These pre-payment requirements must include verification of payee information, payment details, and fund availability. Further, agencies must, to the extent practicable, verify the accuracy of payee bank account information before directing Treasury to make a payment. The bill also expands the Do Not Pay system, which provides agencies with access to centralized data for the purpose of verifying payee eligibility, and provides statutory authority for Treasury’s role as administrator of the system. The bill requires specified data assets to be added to the system and authorizes Treasury to (1) designate additional data assets for inclusion, and (2) access certain taxpayer and Social Security information for the system. The bill specifies that information obtained through the system may only be used to prevent and recover improper payments and establishes penalties for the unlawful disclosure of such information. The bill explicitly requires executive agencies and state and local governments administering federally funded programs to screen payees against all appropriate Do Not Pay data assets and risk tools before making an award or directing a payment. Finally, the bill establishes post-award reporting requirements for certain first-time fund recipients under federal programs for awards of $50,000 or more.