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119-s-80119th CongressWALLET

STEP Act

Sponsored By: Senator Lankford, James [R-OK]

Introduced

Summary

Strengthening controls over improper payments and elevating CFO accountability. This package reorganizes Title 31 to tighten oversight of improper payments and fraud risk. It makes agency chief financial officers the central accountability point, standardizes how improper payments are estimated, and ties reporting to GAO fraud-risk practices.

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  • Agencies and CFOs now place the agency chief financial officer at the center of financial accountability. CFOs must monitor corrective actions and certify the reliability of program vulnerability identifications.
  • New and early programs that have more than $100 million in outlays in any of their first three fiscal years must be flagged as potential improper-payment risks during their first four years, subject to an agency exception.
  • Reporting and oversight requirements are strengthened. Agencies must use statistically valid or OMB-and-CFO-approved methods for improper-payment estimates, include a CFO-certified statement in annual financial statements about progress on corrective actions, and provide biennial reports on implementing the 11 GAO fraud-risk leading practices.

*Includes an explicit no-additional-funds clause, so it does not authorize new appropriations and does not directly increase federal spending.*

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

2 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 0 costs, 1 mixed.

New rules to curb improper payments

If enacted, federal agencies would have to flag new programs in their first four years that are likely to spend over $100,000,000 in any of the first three years. Identified programs must produce statistically valid improper-payment estimates or use methods approved by OMB and the agency CFO. Agencies would include those estimates and a CFO-certified statement about program identification and corrective-action monitoring with their annual financial statements. Starting the first fiscal year after enactment, agencies must send Congress yearly progress reports for nine years on fraud controls, GAO fraud-risk principles, and OMB Circular A-123 leading practices.

No extra funds to implement rules

If enacted, the bill would forbid any new appropriations to carry out its requirements. Agencies would need to use existing budgets or wait for Congress to provide money to implement new controls and reporting. That could slow or limit how quickly agencies put the new payment and fraud rules into practice.

Sponsors & CoSponsors

Sponsor

Lankford, James [R-OK]

OK • R

Cosponsors

There are no cosponsors for this bill.

Roll Call Votes

No roll call votes available for this bill.

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