This bill (1) assigns financial integrity, improper payment prevention, and spending transparency functions to the Bureau of the Fiscal Service (BFS) within the Department of the Treasury; (2) establishes an Office of the Inspector General for Fraud, Accountability, and Recovery (OIGFAR) within Treasury; and (3) requires Treasury to enter into data sharing agreements with other federal agencies and allowable private entities to prevent fraud and improper payments.Functions assigned to BFS by the bill includeadministering the Do Not Pay system (which provides federal agencies and federally funded state-administered programs the ability to verify recipient identity and eligibility before making an award or issuing a payment);maintaining a voluntary governmentwide program to provide data sharing and analysis to federal agencies and to state, local, or tribal governments responsible for administering a federally funded program in order to detect fraud and prevent improper payments that result in financial loss; andsupporting OIGFAR by providing access to information technology and data.The duties of OIGFAR include auditing and investigating the use of certain federal funds, such asfunds, loans, and tax credits made available by various coronavirus response laws;any federal award of $50,000 or more; andemergency spending related to disaster relief or economic recovery.OIGFAR must ensure the expeditious reporting of suspected violations of federal criminal law to the Department of Justice. OIGFAR is authorized to provide investigative support to prosecutive and enforcement authorities to protect program integrity and prevent, detect, and prosecute fraud.
This bill assigns functions to the Bureau of the Fiscal Service to prevent and detect fraud, establishes an Office of the Inspector General to audit and investigate federal funds, and requires data sharing to prevent fraud
Watch Items
•The title does not indicate the bill focuses on the coronavirus response
•The title does not suggest that the bill establishes an Office of the Inspector General with specific duties, such as auditing $50,000 payments
•The title does not include detail about data sharing with private entities or state, local, or tribal governments