June 8, 2026
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National Taxpayers Union urges all representatives to vote “YES” on the numerous fraud prevention and government efficiency improvements slated for consideration:
- Pre-Payment Fraud Prevention and Treasury Data Access Act (Comer)
- Federal Program Integrity and Fraud Prevention Act (Self)
- Bonuses for Cost-Cutters and Fraud Preventers Act (Fleischmann)
- ZOMBIE Act (Palmer)
- TRUE Accountability Act (Biggs)
- Taxpayer Funds Oversight and Accountability Act (Min)
- Government Audit and Accountability of Federally Funded State-Administered Programs Act (Khanna)
Cracking down on waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal programs is one of the most proven ways to protect taxpayer dollars and make government more efficient. Since 2003, the federal government has made $2.8 trillion in improper payments. In Fiscal Year 2023 alone, 14 federal agencies reported a total of $236 billion in improper payments across 71 government programs, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office. With the federal debt reaching a new record each day, it is important that Congress continue to prioritize reforms that ensure taxpayer dollars are spent wisely and effectively.
For example, Chairman Comer’s Pre-Payment Fraud Prevention and Treasury Data Access Act requires agencies to conduct risk evaluations, including the use of the Department of the Treasury’s Do Not Pay system, prior to requesting a payment be made. It also builds on the Do Not Pay system to include other useful datasets, like the National Directory of New Hires, Social Security number and name matching, and tax return income level verification information, while requiring first time program recipients to report back within six months whether federal funds received are being used as intended. The bill’s emphasis on evaluating fraud risk prior to payment is likely to yield positive results for taxpayers, as it is best to detect fraud before it takes place rather than try to hunt down the money afterwards.
Other bills place a greater emphasis on risk assessments, such as the ZOMBIE Act and TRUE Accountability Act. The ZOMBIE Act, for example, requires ongoing, comprehensive risk assessments for agency programs and activities, with an emphasis on new programs. Agencies will be expected to implement fraud risk management best practices, including the GAO Fraud Risk Framework and the development of fraud-risk indicators. It also requires agencies to develop an estimate of improper payments that result in financial loss to the government, holding agencies to that estimate absent any major structural changes. Moving from annual reports to ongoing risk assessments will go a long way toward reducing incidents of fraud earlier and faster, lowering taxpayer costs.
Taxpayers deserve confidence that their hard-earned dollars are being managed responsibly. A sustained commitment to rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse will help restore that confidence while ensuring the government operates more efficiently, effectively, and transparently for future generations. Taken together, all of these bills will help improve our federal budget and protect critical taxpayer resources.
Roll call votes on these pieces of legislation will be included in NTU’s annual rating of Congress and “YES” votes will be considered the pro-taxpayer position.
If you have any questions, please contact NTU’s Vice President of Federal Affairs Thomas Aiello at Taiello@ntu.org
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