Pre-Payment Fraud Prevention and Treasury Data Access Act
Sponsored By: Representative Comer, James [R-KY-1]
In Committee
Summary
This bill creates stricter pre‑certification checks to prevent improper payments. It forces agency certifiers to confirm funds, payee identity, bank details, and other Treasury validation checks before signing payment vouchers and expands the Do Not Pay data system to support detection and recovery.
Show full summary
- Federal agency certifiers must withhold voucher certification until Treasury pre‑certification steps are met, including verifying available funds, payee name and identifier, bank routing and account ownership, and that the payee is not deceased. Treasury and OMB will issue implementation guidance and allow documented exemptions.
- Entities getting new federal awards must file a required report before receiving program funds for the first time. The rule covers awards of at least $50,000 (FY2027 dollars) and lets agencies pause disbursements for noncompliance; reports must be kept for at least five years.
- The Do Not Pay system gains access to more data assets like the National Directory of New Hires and certain IRS and Social Security records to spot improper payments. The bill adds privacy controls, public notice and comment for new data additions, annual reporting to Congress, cost arrangements with SSA, and penalties for unlawful disclosure up to a $5,000 fine or 5 years imprisonment.
Your PRIA Score
Personalized for You
How does this bill affect your finances?
Sign up for a PRIA Policy Scan to see your personalized alignment score for this bill and every other piece of legislation we track. We analyze your financial profile against policy provisions to show you exactly what matters to your wallet.
Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
4 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 0 costs, 3 mixed.
New fraud indicators and Do Not Pay wording
If enacted, the bill would rename the Do Not Pay 'Initiative' to the Do Not Pay 'System' and add clearer definitions. It would also require agencies to design and use fraud-risk indicators—analytic signals like payment anomalies or data mismatches—when they assess programs for improper payments. Agencies would need to add these indicators to existing improper-payment risk reviews.
New prepayment checks for federal payments
If enacted, agencies would be barred from approving payment vouchers until a set of pre-certification checks is done. Agencies would have to confirm funds were available when the obligation was made, the payee and amount are correct, the payee has a valid ID, the correct appropriation and Treasury account codes are used, the payee is not deceased, and bank account ownership is verified. Treasury and OMB would have 180 days to issue rules and agencies could request recorded exemptions or return noncompliant vouchers. This would help stop improper payments but could delay some legitimate payments to households, contractors, and providers.
Expanded Do Not Pay data access
If enacted, Treasury Do Not Pay staff would gain access to new data to spot improper payments. The bill would let Treasury use National Directory of New Hires records, require a written intra-agency agreement with the IRS to share certain tax-return items for at least three prior years, and require SSA to provide a secure name-and-SSN confirmation service. Disclosures would be limited to preventing, detecting, and recovering improper payments, and Treasury would pay SSA for confirmation costs.
New rules start 180 days later
If enacted, the bill and its amendments would take effect 180 days after Congress enacts it. Deadlines for Treasury and OMB guidance in the bill would move later by 180 days. This delays when agencies must start the new verification and reporting steps.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Comer, James [R-KY-1]
KY • R
Cosponsors
Rep. Arrington, Jodey C. [R-TX-19]
TX • R
Sponsored 4/23/2026
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.gov