Delivering On Government Efficiency in Spending Act
Delivering On Government Efficiency in Spending Act would require new, mandatory reporting and verification of every Federal payment made through Treasury’s disbursement system. The bill adds a new section to Title 31 that forces agencies to provide basic payment details (purpose, appropriation, and activity code) to Treasury for each disbursement, with periodic (at least yearly) accuracy checks and public disclosure of the data. It aims to increase transparency and improve controls over how Federal funds are paid and recorded. The bill also broadens data-sharing and verification tools to strengthen program integrity and reduce improper payments. It authorizes Treasury to access and use information from several systems (e.g., National Directory of New Hires, bank account data, certain tax information) and to share that information with agencies, contractors, and other authorized users to identify, prevent, and recover improper payments. It also creates privacy-protective mechanisms and requires some disclosures to support Do Not Pay efforts, while preserving certain protections for sensitive operations.
Key Points
- 1Mandatory reporting for each payment: Agencies must send to the Treasury disbursement system a brief description of payment purpose, the appropriation account, and the activity type code for every payment authorized by agency heads.
- 2Periodic verification and updates: At least annually, certifying officials must verify the accuracy and completeness of the reporting information, with written attestations to disbursing officials, and Treasury-agency coordination to improve the system.
- 3Public data disclosure: Within 30 days of payment certification, the data described above must be made publicly available on the FFATA data portal or equivalent public website for transparency.
- 4Exemptions for sensitive operations: If providing certain information would adversely impact sensitive domestic or national security operations, the reporting requirements can be exempted.
- 5Expanded data access for program integrity:
- 6- Access to and use of the National Directory of New Hires to help identify, prevent, and recover improper payments, with allowed redisclosure to relevant agents, contractors, and authorized agencies.
- 7- Bank account verification and precertification: Agencies must verify recipient bank account information and cross-check it with other payment records before certifying vouchers.
- 8- Do Not Pay data uses and FCRA provisions: The bill expands permissible uses of consumer report data to aid in preventing improper payments and allows redisclosure to Treasury contractors and other authorized entities.
- 9- Privacy-preserving tax data validation: The Do Not Pay system may receive certain tax return information in a way that protects confidentiality to help identify improper payments.
- 10- SSA information for Do Not Pay: SSA would provide basic identifying information to support the Do Not Pay system, under a formal agreement, to help identify and recover improper payments.