PRE-PAYMENT FRAUD PREVENTION AND TREASURY DATA ACCESS ACT

On 2026-06-08, Representative James Comer (R-KY-1) delivered a floor speech titled "PRE-PAYMENT FRAUD PREVENTION AND TREASURY DATA ACCESS ACT" in the House.

PRE-PAYMENT FRAUD PREVENTION AND TREASURY DATA ACCESS ACT

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 96 (Monday, June 8, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 96 (Monday, June 8, 2026)] [House] [Pages H3919-H3923] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] PRE-PAYMENT FRAUD PREVENTION AND TREASURY DATA ACCESS ACT Mr. GILL of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 8463) to establish governmentwide requirements for pre- payment fraud prevention actions, to provide the U.S. Treasury appropriate data resources, to facilitate participation in governmentwide anti-fraud data sharing, and for other purposes, as amended. The Clerk read the title of the bill. The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 8463 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Pre-Payment Fraud Prevention and Treasury Data Access Act''. SEC. 2. PRE-PAYMENT FRAUD PREVENTION REQUIREMENTS FOR AGENCIES. (a) Establishment of Pre-payment Agency Responsibilities.-- (1) Amendment.--Chapter 33 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 3325 the following: ``Sec. 3325a. Agency duties for fraud and improper payment prevention before the issuance of a payment voucher request ``(a) Mandatory Actions Before Issuing a Payment Voucher.-- The head of an agency, or an officer or employee described in section 3325(a)(1(B), may not certify a voucher under section 3325 until the following requirements are met: ``(1) Each pre-certification requirement described in subsection (b) for such payment request. ``(2) Confirmation is provided that the payment complies with any disbursement requirement and instruction, including any pre-certification requirement, published by the Secretary of the Treasury. ``(3) Confirmation is provided that any other appropriate payment, account, and payee validation program or service that the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Director, requires to reduce fraud and an improper payment resulting in financial loss to the Government, including any agency evaluation of the fraud-risk indicator of a program required under section 3352 and agency procedures required under section 3554(b)(1), have been conducted, in accordance with necessary exceptions for statutory, policy, or operational reasons. ``(b) Payment Verification Pre-certification Requirements.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this section, and as needed thereafter, the Secretary of the Treasury shall, in consultation with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, issue regulations, and guidance as necessary, for the pre- certification requirements of this section, for vouchers certified under section 3325, including any deadline for pre- certification information and related records to be submitted to the requisite Treasury official and disbursing official under subchapter IV of this chapter, before the date of disbursement in order to allow for sufficient time to meet the requirements of this section, including the following: ``(1) Funds are available at the time the obligation is incurred and if an obligation is incurred when funds are not available, then the agency may not certify the payment voucher. ``(2) The amount of the payment and the name of the payee on the payment voucher are correct, in conformance with the prescribed standard format. ``(3) A valid social security number, taxpayer identification number, employer identification number, individual taxpayer identification number, or payee ID number is provided for each payee on the voucher, if applicable. ``(4) The appropriation or fund from which the payment will be made is available for the purpose described in the voucher and indicated with the appropriate Treasury Account Symbol or Business Event Type Code. ``(5) A payee is not deceased, if the payment would be improperly made to a deceased payee. ``(6) The account number, if any, provided on the payment voucher is held at a financial institution and is open, valid, and belongs to the payee or a valid designee of the payee. ``(7) Any other identifier in conformance with the payment verification pre-certification requirements established by the Secretary of the Treasury, which may include the Procurement Instrument Identified and the Federal Award Identification Number. ``(c) Return of Payment Voucher.--The Secretary, in consultation with the Director, shall issue guidance and establish procedures to authorize the Chief Disbursing Officer of the Department of the Treasury, or an agency disbursing official, to return to the relevant agency certifying official, including a notification to the agency, any payment or payment voucher issued under section 3325 which does not comply with pre-certification [[Page H3920]] verification requirements established under this section as determined by the Secretary. ``(d) Agency Requests for Exemptions.--The Secretary of the Treasury shall include in the regulations issued under subsection (b), or in other regulations or guidance issued under this chapter, a process for agencies to request exemptions from some or all of the payment verification requirements for specific payments or categories of payments under this section, which shall include a requirement for the agency to provide a plan and reasonable timeframe to remediate the need for the exemption. Any approved exemption shall be documented in any related payment voucher certified under section 3325 for the duration of the exemption.''. (2) Technical and conforming amendment.--The table of sections for chapter 33 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item for section 3325 the following: ``3325a. Agency duties for fraud and improper payment prevention before the issuance of a payment voucher request.''. (b) Amendment to Responsibilities of Agency Certifying Official for Payment Vouchers.--Section 3528(a) of title 31, United States Code, is amended-- (1) in paragraph (2), by inserting after ``of this title'' the following: ``, including pre-certification requirements described in section 3325a''; (2) by redesignating paragraphs (4) and (5) as paragraphs (5) and (6), respectively; and (3) by inserting after paragraph (3) the following: ``(4) Ensuring that-- ``(A) the agency has complied with the requirements of section 3325a and subchapter IV of this title; and ``(B) a covered recipient is in compliance with the reporting requirements under section 6107.''. (c) Prepayment Requirements of Payment Disbursing Officials.--Section 3325 of title 31, United States Code, is amended-- (1) in subsection (d) by striking ``taxpayer identifying number of each person'' and inserting ``information required to be submitted under section 3325a(b) of each payee''; and (2) by adding at the end the following: ``(e)(1) Before certifying a voucher to a disbursing official, the head of an agency or an officer or employee of an agency described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of subsection (a)(1), as applicable, shall take necessary actions to accurately disburse payments to the recipients of those payments, including by-- ``(A) verifying the accuracy of the bank account information to which a payment is to be disbursed, to the extent practicable; and ``(B) comparing the bank account information of the proposed recipient to other payment records available to the agency, to the extent practicable. ``(2) The Secretary of the Treasury shall issue guidance to carry out this subsection, which may be carried out through any guidance issued for section 3325a(b).''. (d) Addition of Fraud Prevention Indicators to Agency Improper Payment Risk Assessments.-- (1) Definitions amendments.--Section 3351 of title 31, United States Code is amended-- (A) in paragraph (3)-- (i) in the heading, by striking ``initiative'' and inserting ``system''; (ii) by striking ``Initiative'' and inserting ``System''; and (iii) by striking ``initiative'' and inserting ``system''; and (B) by adding at the end the following (and by redesignating and moving the paragraphs to appear in alphabetical order): ``(9) Appropriate authorizing and appropriations committees of congress.--The term `appropriate authorizing and appropriations committees of Congress' means the following: ``(A) The Committees on Appropriations of the Senate and the House of Representatives. ``(B) The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate. ``(C) The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House of Representatives. ``(D) The Budget Committee of the House of Representatives and the Committee on the Budget of the Senate. ``(D) Any other relevant congressional committee of jurisdiction. ``(10) Director.--The term `Director' means the Director of the Office of Management and Budget. ``(11) Fraud-risk indicator.--The term `fraud-risk indicator' means an objective data point or analytic signal that indicates an anomalous payment pattern or increase in the volume of a payment amount, a verified data mismatch, network or behavioral anomaly, or match identified by the Do Not Pay system and any other payment, account, and payee validation program or service provided by the Department of the Treasury that would result in financial loss to the Government.''. (2) Amendment.--Section 3352(a)(1) of title 31, United States Code, is amended-- (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``; and'' and inserting a semicolon; (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking the period at the end and inserting ``; and''; and (C) by adding at the end the following: ``(C) design and apply fraud-risk indicators to the programs identified under paragraph (A).''. SEC. 3. TREASURY DO NOT PAY SYSTEM. (a) Amendment.--Section 3354 of title 31, United States Code, is amended-- (1) in the heading, by striking ``Initiative'' and inserting ``system''; (2) in subsection (a)-- (A) by amending paragraph (1) to read as follows: ``(1) In g

Referenced legislation: HR8463, HR8463