Delivering On Government Efficiency in Spending Act
This bill, the Delivering On Government Efficiency in Spending Act, would tighten and expand how federal payments are reported, verified, and monitored. It requires agencies to provide detailed payment information to the Treasury disbursing system, with annual confirmations and a public-facing summary of payments. In addition, the bill broadens interagency data sharing to strengthen program integrity and prevent improper payments. It would expand access to data held by the National Directory of New Hires, require bank account verification before disbursing funds, update certain data-use rules under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and create a privacy-preserving framework to use tax and Social Security information to improve the Do Not Pay system. Overall, the act aims to increase transparency, reduce improper payments, and improve the accuracy and oversight of federal spending, while adding new data-sharing and verification requirements for agencies.
Key Points
- 1Mandatory reporting and public disclosure of payment data: Agencies must report basic payment details (purpose, funding source, and activity type) to the Treasury disbursement system, with annual verification of accuracy and a public posting within 30 days after each payment is certified, unless an exemption applies for sensitive operations.
- 2Exemption and oversight features: If a payment would adversely affect a sensitive operation, reporting can be exempted, but agencies must include aggregated data in budget materials to show what would have been reported. An official process governs updates and improvements to the system.
- 3Expanded program integrity data sharing: The bill authorizes Treasury to access information in the National Directory of New Hires and to redisclose certain information to Treasury agents, other federal or authorized entities, and agreed-upon partners to identify, prevent, and recover improper payments.
- 4Bank account verification before payments: Agencies must verify recipient bank account information and cross-check it against other payment records before certifying a voucher, with Treasury guidance to implement.
- 5Data-use and privacy provisions for anti-fraud efforts: The bill broadens permissible uses of consumer report information to support identifying and recovering improper payments, and makes targeted amendments to privacy laws (FCRA and IRS code) to enable Do Not Pay-related activities while preserving confidentiality and controlling disclosures.
- 6Do Not Pay enhancements with Social Security and tax data: It adds a Do Not Pay data framework that can use certain tax return information and Social Security data to improve the Do Not Pay system, while preserving privacy protections and enabling access by authorized agencies and contractors.