Stopping Fraudulent Payments Act

New pause rules for benefit payments

If enacted, this bill would let agency heads temporarily pause, condition, or split federal benefit and assistance payments before certifying them when an objective fraud-risk indicator or an estimated improper payment shows elevated fraud risk. The Treasury Secretary would be required to notify certifying officials and order corrective action when a payment or payee is flagged by Do Not Pay or other Treasury validation tools. Agencies would have to tell payees promptly, name the fraud-risk indicator used, and offer a process to contest factual errors. Agencies would generally have to pay withheld amounts within 45 days of the determination, or within 7 days after a timely contest. The bill would require agencies to allow routine, historically consistent amounts to proceed while holding only anomalous or high‑risk portions. Law-enforcement notifications could waive the pause if an investigation would be jeopardized. The bill would limit personal liability for officers acting in good faith and require Treasury and OMB to publish rules within 180 days and annually thereafter.