Press Releases

WASHINGTON— Today, House Republicans passed H.R. 8464, the Stopping Fraudulent Payments Act, legislation led by House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) to crack down on fraudulent payments and stop taxpayer dollars from being lost to waste, fraud, and abuse.

House Republican Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) and Rep. Comer released the following statements:

“Washington has spent years treating fraud like a cost of doing business,” Chairwoman McClain said. “Taxpayers are stuck footing the bill while bureaucrats chase money that is already spent. That is backwards. House Republicans are changing the system so fraudsters get stopped before they get paid. The American people deserve a government that protects their money as aggressively as it collects it.”

“American taxpayers are rightfully outraged when their hard-earned money is stolen by criminals while the federal and state agencies responsible for preventing fraud look the other way,” Rep. Comer said. “The House Oversight Committee has exposed widespread fraud in state-administered federal programs, including the theft of $9 billion from Minnesota’s social services programs. This week, the House of Representatives took action to stop fraud by preventing fraudulent or improper payments before they go out the door and ensuring taxpayer-funded programs operate as intended. Working alongside the Trump Administration, the Oversight Committee will continue to crack down on fraud, protect taxpayer dollars, and hold bad actors accountable.”

The Stopping Fraudulent Payments Act addresses the federal government's costly "pay and chase" approach to fraud by requiring agencies to identify and address fraud risks before requesting payments. The bill also allows the Treasury Department to return payment requests flagged for elevated fraud risks so agencies can investigate before money is disbursed, while allowing routine low-risk payments to continue uninterrupted.