What They Are Saying: H.R. 8342, the Improper Payments Transparency Act
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Last week, H.R. 8342, the “Improper Payments Transparency Act” was favorably reported by the House Budget Committee on a bipartisan vote of 18-7.
The “Improper Payments Transparency Act,” led by Budget Process Reform Task Force Chairman Rep. Rudy Yakym (R-IN), Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), Rep. Jack Bergman (R-MI), and Rep. Scott Peters (D-CA),would direct the President to include the amounts and rates of improper payments at each executive branch agency, year-over-year trends, a detailed explanation of trends, and a summary of any corrective actions taken to address improper payments in the President’s annual budget request.
Stakeholders and industry experts urging swift passage of H.R. 8342 include:
What They Are Saying:
Matt Weidinger, American Enterprise Institute:“Such transparency is a necessary ingredient to recognizing when programs are failing to reach their intended recipients and fixing them through executive branch actions, or legislation if needed. While the American Enterprise Institute does not take institutional positions, I am pleased to offer my personal support for the “Improper Payments Transparency Act,” which would advance all of those critical goals.”
Michele Stockwell, BPC Action: “This bill is an important step forward by providing lawmakers the information they need to effectively partner with agencies to reduce and prevent improper payments.”
Tom Schatz, Council for Citizens Against Economic Waste: “Despite this persistent problem and prior attempts to reduce improper payments, there are still gaps in how they are reported by federal agencies. The Improper Payments Transparency Act would fill these gaps by requiring the President’s budget request to include details on why improper payments occurred, steps federal agencies are taking to reduce improper payments, and the status of the steps that are being taken. This bill would provide more accurate details on the extent of improper payments and why these mistakes occurred, which will help Congress and the federal agencies in detecting, reducing, and preventing improper payments.”
Paul Winfree, Economic Policy Innovation Center: “The Improper Payments Transparency Act would be a useful first step in acknowledging the full scope of the problem of improper payments. This legislation would require the President’s budget to include an accounting of improper payments and include a strategy to address and prevent improper payments.”
Tarren Bragdon, Foundation for Government Accountability: “The massive and systemic issues of improper payments across Medicaid, SNAP, and Unemployment Insurance programs, along with many other government-run programs, require urgent reforms.
The Improper Payments Transparency Act is a crucial first step towards enhancing transparency and accountability. Understanding the full scope of the problem will be helpful in instituting stronger eligibility checks and verification and ensuring robust program integrity measures that will start to reverse the trend of improper payments. This reform is not only a fiscal imperative but a moral one, restoring public trust and helping to ensure that taxpayer dollars reach the truly needy who rely on the programs.”
Ryan Walker, Heritage Action: “While Americans struggle to afford gas and groceries in the Biden economy, the federal government keeps spending their tax dollars with far too little oversight. If bureaucrats lose, waste, or misuse public funds, the least the government can do is own up to its mistakes and fix the problem. Heritage Action thanks Reps. Yakym and Bergman for fighting for accountability and sponsoring the Improper Payments Transparency Act.”
Adam Andrzejewski, Open the Books: “The Improper Payments Transparency Act would ensure that the extent of improper payments is communicated more accurately to Congress by requiring the White House to submit critical data as part of the President’s annual budget request... Consequently, lawmakers and executive agency employees would be better equipped to not only identify but help agencies cure patterns of improper payments."
