Creates a permanent, Senate-confirmed Inspector General for Fraud, Accountability, and Recovery inside the Treasury Department, with authority to audit and investigate fraud across the whole federal government. Builds a governmentwide data system at Treasury's Bureau of the Fiscal Service that can pull federal program records (including in bulk and in real time) to spot fraud and stop improper payments, screen payees against a central fraud database before money goes out, and verify recipients' identities. The funds covered are broad: COVID-relief programs, unemployment benefits, SBA loans, the infrastructure law, the Inflation Reduction Act, the CHIPS Act, and any federal award of $50,000 or more. Treasury could sign data-sharing agreements with other agencies and with private firms, including banks, to obtain this information, subject to existing privacy laws. The new watchdog's work counts as criminal law enforcement, so it can refer cases to the Justice Department, and its records are treated as law-enforcement files that are largely shielded from Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act disclosure. It authorizes $10 million a year starting in fiscal 2035, absorbs the existing Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, and shuts that committee down on December 31, 2028 (about six years earlier than current law). Most provisions take effect December 31, 2028.
Civil Liberties
- Treasury bulk and real-time access to federal program records
- central fraud database screening payees before payment
- identity and eligibility verification tools shared across agencies
- federal data sharing with private banks and firms
Criminal Justice & Due Process
- new fraud IG classed as a criminal law-enforcement body
- investigative and data reach over recipients of $50,000+ federal awards
Transparency & Accountability
- permanent governmentwide fraud Inspector General created
- annual fraud-prevention reports required to Congress
- public website tracking oversight of covered federal funds
- reporting obligations extended to sub-recipients of federal awards
- FOIA and Privacy Act access to the new IG's records
- Pandemic Response Accountability Committee terminated six years early
Congressional Summary
Fraud Prevention and Accountability ActThis 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.
Legislative Subjects
Details
- Congress
- 119th
- Chamber
- House
- Status
- summarized
- Action
- Reported to House
- Action Date
- 2026-06-03
- Date Added
- 2026-06-08
- Source
- Congress.gov →
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