National Taxpayers Union (NTU) urges all Representatives to vote “YES” on H.R. 3830, the Taxpayers Right-to-Know Act; S. 375, the Payment Integrity Information Act; and H.R. 5214, the Representative Payee Fraud Prevention Act. These three bipartisan bills would help taxpayers and their advocates keep better tabs on federal program duplication, improper payments by federal agencies, and embezzlement of federal funds, respectively. They would also allow policymakers to begin to tackle the billions of dollars in wasteful spending that occurs every year in the federal government.
H.R. 3830, the Taxpayers Right-to-Know Act sponsored by Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI), would require the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to make progress on developing and publishing a regularly updated inventory of federal programs. This legislation would build on efforts by a bipartisan group of senators asking OMB to implement the requirements of the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) Modernization Act of 2010. It is shocking that no single person can tell taxpayers how many federal government programs even exist. It is past time that OMB work on developing such an inventory, which will help citizens and taxpayer advocates identify duplicative or overlapping federal programs.
S. 375, the Payment Integrity Information Act sponsored by Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE) and passed by the Senate, would require OMB, federal agency heads, and agency inspectors general to work together to combat improper payments, which include underpayments, overpayments, duplicate payments, payments to ineligible recipients, and more. According to Sen. Carper, federal agencies have recorded $1.4 trillion in improper payments since they began tracking this data in 2003. It is of the utmost importance that all agency leaders take measures to reduce and recover these improper payments, and S. 375 would lead to detailed plans for doing so.
H.R. 5214, the Representative Payee Fraud Prevention Act sponsored by Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), would ensure that individuals embezzling federal funds intended for a minor or a disabled person face fines and jail time, along with having their status as a “representative payee” revoked. This is a commonsense measure that will both reduce abuse of taxpayer funds and help protect society’s most vulnerable populations.
Roll call votes on H.R. 3830, S. 375, and H.R. 5214 will be included in our annual Rating of Congress and a “YES” vote will be considered the pro-taxpayer position.
If you have any questions, please contact NTU Policy and Government Affairs Associate Andrew Lautz at alautz@ntu.org.