“To reform the Payment Integrity Information Act of 2019 to ensure executive agencies focus on fraud prevention, and for other purposes.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section revises the Payment Integrity Information Act of 2019 (PIIA) by amending the definition of "agency improper payment information" in 31 U.S.C. §3351(2) to specify information on improper payments resulting in financial loss to the Government—including such information published in an executive agency's annual budget justification for the most recent fiscal year—and by adding a definition of "financial loss to the Government" that excludes any payment (or part thereof) made to the correct person or entity for the correct amount authorized by law but not in accordance with certain administrative procedures (excluding procedures necessary to establish eligibility or verify the correct amount). (The PIIA requires executive agencies to identify programs at risk of improper payments—i.e., payments that should not have been made or that were made in incorrect amounts—estimate such payments, report them publicly, and implement corrective actions. Thus, these amendments narrow reporting and estimation requirements to payments that cause actual financial loss to the federal government.) This section further amends 31 U.S.C. §3352 to retitle it concerning estimates of improper payments resulting in financial loss to the Government and reports on actions to reduce such payments; requires agency heads to submit annually (instead of periodically reviewing) a list of programs and activities required to be reported on the federal Program Inventory under 31 U.S.C. §1122; requires estimation of such improper payments and payments lacking sufficient documentation to determine financial loss; directs the Secretary of the Treasury to develop risk assessment guidance within one year of enactment addressing the likelihood and magnitude of payment errors with and without financial loss, a formula for estimating such loss, and relevant best practices (e.g., Government Accountability Office fraud risk framework); requires agencies to conduct initial risk assessments using that guidance within six months for existing and new programs before any fund disbursement and on an ongoing basis no less frequently than every three years (including for fraud); and requires agency reports on these matters no less frequently than every three years (from annually).