# 119-s-4952: Protecting American Taxpayers Act 119-s-4952, Protecting American Taxpayers Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Ernst, Joni [R-IA] (R-IA); status in_committee; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-01). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4952 - As of: 2026-10-01 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: 119-s-4952 - Congress: 119 - Title: Protecting American Taxpayers Act - Status: in_committee - Introduced: 2026-07-13 - Sponsor: Sen. Ernst, Joni [R-IA] (R-IA) - Cosponsors: 29 - Policy area: Government Operations and Politics - Touches household money: yes - Last recorded action: 2026-10-01 ## Summary **This bill would target waste and fraud across federal programs by *preventing improper payments*** and by rescinding unspent COVID‑era and Afghan-related funds to help reduce the deficit. It layers program-integrity checks, rapid fraud triggers for health programs, and recovery tools across agencies. ## Cosponsors (29) - Sen. Lee, Mike [R-UT] (R-UT), 2026-09-28T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Ricketts, Pete [R-NE] (R-NE), 2026-07-20T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Marshall, Roger [R-KS] (R-KS), 2026-07-20T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Cramer, Kevin [R-ND] (R-ND), 2026-07-20T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Moody, Ashley [R-FL] (R-FL), 2026-07-20T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Sheehy, Tim [R-MT] (R-MT), 2026-07-20T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Banks, Jim [R-IN] (R-IN), 2026-07-20T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Grassley, Chuck [R-IA] (R-IA), 2026-07-20T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Cornyn, John [R-TX] (R-TX), 2026-07-20T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Moreno, Bernie [R-OH] (R-OH), 2026-07-20T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Husted, Jon [R-OH] (R-OH), 2026-07-20T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. McCormick, David [R-PA] (R-PA), 2026-07-20T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Lankford, James [R-OK] (R-OK), 2026-07-20T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Young, Todd [R-IN] (R-IN), 2026-07-20T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Britt, Katie Boyd [R-AL] (R-AL), 2026-07-20T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Schmitt, Eric [R-MO] (R-MO), 2026-07-20T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Kennedy, John [R-LA] (R-LA), 2026-07-20T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Justice, James C. [R-WV] (R-WV), 2026-07-20T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Lummis, Cynthia M. [R-WY] (R-WY), 2026-07-20T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Barrasso, John [R-WY] (R-WY), 2026-07-20T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Daines, Steve [R-MT] (R-MT), 2026-07-20T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Budd, Ted [R-NC] (R-NC), 2026-07-20T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Hagerty, Bill [R-TN] (R-TN), 2026-07-21T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Blackburn, Marsha [R-TN] (R-TN), 2026-07-21T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Wicker, Roger F. [R-MS] (R-MS), 2026-07-21T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Crapo, Mike [R-ID] (R-ID), 2026-07-22T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Risch, James E. [R-ID] (R-ID), 2026-07-23T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Graham, Darline [R-SC] (R-SC), 2026-07-23T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Armstrong, Alan [R-OK] (R-OK), 2026-07-27T00:00:00.000Z ## Provisions PRIA read - More Treasury data to stop improper payments: benefit, medium. If enacted, this bill would let Treasury use more government data to find and stop improper federal payments. Treasury would get access to the National Directory of New Hires, certain IRS return details for at least 3 years, and Social Security identifiers for matching. Agencies would have to repor… - New VA officer to fight veteran scams: benefit, low. If enacted, this bill would create a Veterans Scam and Fraud Evasion Officer at the VA to help prevent scams and identity theft. The officer would promote the VA fraud hotline and website, coordinate with the VA Inspector General, report fraud metrics to Congress each year, and do outreach with vet… - Severability to preserve other rules: benefit, low. If enacted, this bill would include a severability clause saying that if one provision is held unconstitutional, the rest of the Act would remain in effect. This would protect the remaining provisions from being voided if a court strikes part of the law. - No remittances while on benefits: cost, high. If enacted, this bill would require people applying for certain public assistance to sign a sworn statement that they will not send remittance transfers while receiving benefits. The rule would start for payments given after 30 days from enactment. If someone signs the statement and later sends a r… - SBA help blocked after fraud conviction: cost, high. If enacted, this bill would bar a small business and its associates from getting most new SBA financial assistance if an associate is finally convicted of financial misconduct related to a covered loan or grant. "Associate" includes owners with more than 20 percent equity, officers, key employees,… - Cancel unused pandemic funding: cost, high. If enacted, this bill would rescind unobligated balances from many pandemic-era laws on the date of enactment and deposit the money into the Treasury general fund for deficit reduction. The President could waive the rescission for specific accounts by notifying Congress within 60 days. Agencies and… - Longer time to sue over pandemic fraud: cost, medium. If enacted, this bill would make the statute of limitations for many criminal and civil cases tied to pandemic-era programs 10 years. The listed pandemic laws covered include CARES, the Paycheck Protection Program, and the American Rescue Plan Act. The extension applies to certain criminal statutes… - Ban federal aid to foreign‑agent‑controlled groups: cost, low. If enacted, this bill would bar any entity that is controlled by an agent of a listed foreign principal from getting direct or indirect U.S. financial assistance. The bill lists covered nations and defines who counts as an agent or controlled actor. Ineligible support would include contracts, grant… - Afghanistan aid rescinds and reporting: mixed, medium. If enacted, this bill would cancel unobligated balances from many Afghanistan reconstruction accounts and transfer the money to the Treasury for deficit reduction. It would also require the State Department to report within 90 days on U.S. direct cash assistance to Afghanistan since August 1, 2021,… - Stricter TANF and child care checks: mixed, low. If enacted, this bill would make states report full-population TANF data and require child care payments based on recorded attendance instead of enrollment. Providers would have to keep attendance records for 7 years and allow audits. The HHS Secretary would issue rules within two years and send Co… - Agency savings paid to Treasury, small awards: mixed, low. If enacted, this bill would require agencies to identify "surplus salaries and expenses" and transfer those amounts to the Treasury general fund. Agencies could keep up to 10 percent of the transferred money to pay cash awards to the employees who found the savings. Agencies must report annually on… ## Related bills - 119-s-1071: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026 - 119-s-2296: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026 - 119-sres-913: A resolution relating to the death of the Honorable Nancy Kassebaum, former United States Senator for the State of Kansas. - 119-sres-897: A resolution honoring the life, service, and legacy of the Honorable Jon Llewellyn Kyl, former Senator for the State of Arizona. - 119-s-3752: SAVE America Act - 119-s-186: No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act of 2025 ## Sources - [119-s-4952 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/4952) ## Related - [119-s-1071: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1071) - [119-s-2296: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2296) - [119-sres-913: A resolution relating to the death of the Honorable Nancy Kassebaum, former Uni…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-sres-913) - [119-sres-897: A resolution honoring the life, service, and legacy of the Honorable Jon Llewel…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-sres-897) - [119-s-3752: SAVE America Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3752) - [119-s-186: No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act of…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-186) - [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4952 (as of 2026-10-01).