HR4311-119

What This Bill Does

The Delivering On Government Efficiency in Spending Act builds a payment-verification and Do Not Pay data system. Agencies using Treasury disbursement systems must send Treasury a brief payment-purpose description, Treasury account symbol, and activity type for each payment, then have certifying officials evaluate accuracy and completeness at least annually. OMB must direct publication of the payment data on the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act website within 30 days after certification. Sensitive operations can be exempt when disclosure would risk death or serious bodily injury or reveal classified, legally protected, or FOIA-exempt information, but agencies must include aggregated exempt-payment information in controlled unclassified or classified budget justification annexes. Treasury may issue guidance and disbursing officials are shielded from legal liability for actions under the section. The bill also gives Treasury access to the National Directory of New Hires, lets Treasury redisclose NDNH information for improper-payment work, requires agency heads to verify bank account information and compare recipient accounts to other payment records before certifying vouchers, amends FCRA to allow consumer-report use for disbursement accuracy and Do Not Pay actions, authorizes Treasury access to selected IRS return information such as taxpayer ID, filing status, AGI, Schedule C income or loss, filing year, bank routing data, identity-theft flags, and nonfiling indicators, and requires SSA to provide name, date of birth, and Social Security number data to enhance the Do Not Pay working system.

Who Benefits and How

Treasury payment-integrity staff benefit because agencies must provide payment purpose, account, activity, and bank-account verification data. Federal watchdogs benefit because non-sensitive payment data must be posted publicly through the federal spending transparency website. Do Not Pay system users benefit from access to National Directory of New Hires, consumer-report, IRS return, and Social Security data. Taxpayers benefit if stronger verification helps identify, prevent, and recover improper or fraudulent payments.

Who Bears the Burden and How

Agency heads must report payment metadata, verify accuracy annually, and justify sensitive-operation exemptions in budget materials. Certifying officials must evaluate payment information and verify bank account accuracy before disbursement. The Commissioner of Social Security must provide personally identifiable information to Treasury for the Do Not Pay system. Privacy and civil liberties offices must manage broader redisclosure of hiring, consumer-report, tax-return, and Social Security data.

Key Provisions

• Requires agencies using Treasury disbursement systems to report payment purpose, Treasury account symbol, and business event type.
• Requires annual verification and public posting within 30 days, with sensitive-operation exemptions and classified or controlled annex reporting.
• Expands Treasury access to National Directory of New Hires, bank-account verification, consumer reports, IRS return information, and SSA personally identifiable information.
• Uses the Do Not Pay system to identify, prevent, and recover improper and fraudulent payments.