To: Members of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
From: National Taxpayers Union
Date: April 29, 2026
Subject: NTU’s Views on April 29th Committee Markup
I. Introduction and Key Taxpayer Considerations
As the nation’s oldest taxpayers organization, NTU has had a longstanding interest in ensuring that taxpayer dollars are spent wisely. We are, therefore, keenly supportive of several pieces of anti-fraud legislation under consideration today by the House Oversight Committee. Taken together, these bills should help stop fraud before it actually occurs, potentially saving taxpayers billions of dollars over the budget window. We thank the Committee for considering these important bills, and encourage members to support them
II. Legislation NTU Supports at April 29 Markup
H.R. 8463 – Pre-Payment Fraud Prevention and Treasury Data Access Act
Sponsored by Congressmen James Comer (R-KY) and Jodey Arrington (R-TX), this bill would require 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.
H.R. 8464 - Stopping Fraudulent Payments Act
Also sponsored by Congressmen James Comer (R-KY) and Jodey Arrington (R-TX), this bill would require agencies to take corrective actions prior to certifying a payment voucher request if there is an identified risk of fraud or an improper payment that would result in a financial loss to the government. Treasury would also be required to return payment requests to the agency for corrective action for a period of time if it detects a similar risk after a payment request is made. This bill continues on the pre-payment fraud detection efforts of the previous bill, likely saving taxpayer dollars.
H.R. 8312 - Fraud Prevention and Accountability Act
Sponsored by Congressmen Pete Sessions (R-TX) and William Timmons (R-SC), this bill intends to expand and make permanent Covid-era fraud oversight efforts that yield positive results for taxpayers. It establishes an “Inspector General for Fraud, Accountability, and Recovery (IGFAR)” in Treasury that assumes and expands the work of the successful Pandemic Response Accountability Committee’s (PRAC) by the end of 2028. The bill also expands Treasury’s role overseeing the Do Not Pay system, including the development of a government-wide data analytic support platform for federal agencies and programs. Since PRAC has saved billions in taxpayer dollars since its creation, expansion of these efforts could yield significant savings for taxpayers.
H.R. 8467 - Zeroing Out Monetary Benefits Improperly Expended (ZOMBIE) Act
Sponsored by Congressman Gary Palmer (R-AL), this bill 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 towards reducing incidents of fraud earlier and faster, lowering taxpayer costs.
H.R. 8428 - Federal Fraud Prevention Workforce Training Act
Sponsored by Congressmen Glenn Grothman (R-WI) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), this bill requires Treasury, along with OMB and OPM, to establish a government-wide training program to ensure the federal workers know how to identify fraud risks in federal programs. Training would include leading anti-fraud best practices and required agency anti-fraud controls, and use Treasury tools like the Do Not Pay system. State and local governments running federal programs would also be able to access this training. While federal workers are subject to hours of annual training requirements each year already, this effort is worth adding to this workload, as it could help save large amounts of taxpayer dollars.
Taxpayer Resources Used in Emergencies (TRUE) Accountability Act
Sponsored in the House by Congressman Andy Biggs (R-AZ), with a Senate companion bill by Senator James Lankford (R-OK), this bill requires the OMB to issue guidance for the development of agency internal control plans for use in future disaster or other emergency supplemental spending packages. It also requires agencies to use GAO improper payment and fraud risk frameworks, as well as risk assessments of similar or related programs, and adopt real-time, data driven payment monitoring techniques. This bill holds the promise of significant taxpayer savings, as some of the most wasteful government spending occurs in emergencies.
H.R. 8340 - Taxpayer Funds Oversight and Accountability Act
Sponsored by Dave Min (D-CA) and William Timmons (R-SC), this bill makes agency Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) responsible for “performance and integration of performance and cost information” and “annual agency financial statements” within agencies. CFOs will be required to oversee the design and implementation of financial management internal controls, as well as create an agency plan to implement the four-year financial management plans prepared by OMB. They will also have to provide periodic updates on how agency performance compares to financial metrics. Creating a clear place in agencies where financial reporting authority rests, as well as requiring agencies to connect taxpayer dollars spent to agency performance, should help improve the quality of products available to taxpayers at a likely lower cost level.
H.R. 1755 - Timely and Accurate Benefits Act
Sponsored by Congressman William Timmons (R-SC), with five current co-sponsors including Congressman Max Frost (D-FL), this bill would require the Treasury to make the Do Not Pay system available to states running federally-funded programs for recipient eligibility determinations and payee verification activities. It also requires such states, in order to receive federal funding, to maintain and issue plans documenting whether they have access to necessary data sets and systems to conduct appropriate program integrity activities. States would be required to identify and make plans to address any gaps in their ability to properly determine recipient eligibility and conduct verification checks. This bill fills an implementation gap in federal benefit programs that rely on state or local governments to administer, and should save millions in taxpayer dollars.
III. Contact Information
Should you have any questions about the recommendations in this memo, please do not hesitate to reach out to David Timmons (dtimmons@ntu.org).