[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 99 (Tuesday, June 21, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H3999-H4000]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
FRAUD REDUCTION AND DATA ANALYTICS ACT OF 2015
Mr. HURD of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass
the bill (S. 2133) to improve Federal agency financial and
administrative controls and procedures to assess and mitigate fraud
risks, and to improve Federal agencies' development and use of data
analytics for the purpose of identifying, preventing, and responding to
fraud, including improper payments.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
S. 2133
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Fraud Reduction and Data
Analytics Act of 2015''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act--
(1) the term ``agency'' has the meaning given the term in
section 551 of title 5, United States Code; and
(2) the term ``improper payment'' has the meaning given the
term in section 2(g) of the Improper Payments Information Act
of 2002 (31 U.S.C. 3321 note).
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF FINANCIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE
CONTROLS RELATING TO FRAUD AND IMPROPER
PAYMENTS.
(a) Guidelines.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office of
Management and Budget, in consultation with the Comptroller
General of the United States, shall establish guidelines for
agencies to establish financial and administrative controls
to identify and assess fraud risks and design and implement
control activities in order to prevent, detect, and respond
to fraud, including improper payments.
(2) Contents.--The guidelines described in paragraph (1)
shall incorporate the leading practices identified in the
report published by the Government Accountability Office on
July 28, 2015, entitled ``Framework for Managing Fraud Risks
in Federal Programs''.
(3) Modification.--The Director of the Office of Management
and Budget, in consultation with the Comptroller General of
the United States, may periodically modify the guidelines
described in paragraph (1) as the Director and Comptroller
General may determine necessary.
(b) Requirements for Controls.--The financial and
administrative controls required to be established by
agencies under subsection (a) shall include--
(1) conducting an evaluation of fraud risks and using a
risk-based approach to design and implement financial and
administrative control activities to mitigate identified
fraud risks;
(2) collecting and analyzing data from reporting mechanisms
on detected fraud to monitor fraud trends and using that data
and information to continuously improve fraud prevention
controls; and
(3) using the results of monitoring, evaluation, audits,
and investigations to improve fraud prevention, detection,
and response.
(c) Reports.--
(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), for
each of the first 3 fiscal years beginning after the date of
enactment of this Act, each agency shall submit to Congress,
as part of the annual financial report of the agency, a
report on the progress of the agency in--
(A) implementing--
(i) the financial and administrative controls required to
be established under subsection (a);
(ii) the fraud risk principle in the Standards for Internal
Control in the Federal Government; and
(iii) Office of Management and Budget Circular A-123 with
respect to the leading practices for managing fraud risk;
(B) identifying risks and vulnerabilities to fraud,
including with respect to payroll, beneficiary payments,
grants, large contracts, and purchase and travel cards; and
(C) establishing strategies, procedures, and other steps to
curb fraud.
(2) First report.--If the date of enactment of this Act is
less than 180 days before the date on which an agency is
required to submit the annual financial report of the agency,
the agency may submit the report required under paragraph (1)
as part of the following annual financial report of the
agency.
SEC. 4. WORKING GROUP.
(a) Establishment.--Not later than 180 days after the date
of enactment of this Act, the Office of Management and Budget
shall establish a working group to improve--
(1) the sharing of financial and administrative controls
established under section 3(a) and other best practices and
techniques for detecting, preventing, and responding to
fraud, including improper payments; and
(2) the sharing and development of data analytics
techniques.
(b) Composition.--The working group established under
subsection (a) shall be composed of--
(1) the Controller of the Office of Management and Budget,
who shall serve as Chairperson;
(2) the Chief Financial Officer of each agency; and
(3) any other party determined to be appropriate by the
Director of the Office of Management and Budget, which may
include the Chief Information Officer, the Chief Procurement
Officer, or the Chief Operating Officer of each agency.
(c) Consultation.--The working group established under
subsection (a) shall consult with Offices of Inspectors
General and Federal and non-Federal experts on fraud risk
assessments, financial controls, and other relevant matters.
(d) Meetings.--The working group established under
subsection (a) shall hold not fewer than 4 meetings per year.
(e) Plan.--Not later than 270 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the working group established under
subsection (a) shall submit to Congress a plan for the
establishment and use of a Federal interagency library of
data analytics and data sets, which can incorporate or
improve upon existing Federal resources and capacities, for
use by agencies and Offices of Inspectors General to
facilitate the detection, prevention, and recovery of fraud,
including improper payments.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Texas (Mr. Hurd) and the gentlewoman from Michigan (Mrs. Lawrence) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas.
General Leave
Mr. HURD of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their
remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under
consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Texas?
There was no objection.
Mr. HURD of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 2133, the Fraud Reduction and
Data Analytics Act of 2015, introduced by Senator Thomas Carper of
Delaware.
S. 2133 is a bipartisan bill that will strengthen and enhance the
antifraud prevention and detection measures used by Federal agencies.
Current antifraud prevention and detection measures are reliant on
after-the-fact reviews of transactions. This system is not perfect.
A significant portion of the Federal Government's $124 billion in
overpayments in fiscal year 2014--$19 billion more than fiscal year
2013--were fraud-related.
The current reactive antifraud measures require agencies to spend
time and resources on efforts to track and recover these fraud-related
overpayments. S. 2133 will help to prevent
[[Page H4000]]
these fraudulent payments from being made in the first place.
The Fraud Reduction and Data Analytics Act of 2015 will help protect
taxpayer dollars by requiring the Office of Management and Budget, OMB,
and Federal agencies to adopt proactive fraud detection controls and
preventative measures.
The bill will require the OMB to create a set of guidelines for
antifraud measures, which agencies must utilize when establishing their
proactive antifraud control and detection procedures. The bill will
also require agencies to better collaborate on developing best
practices for combating fraud.
S. 2133 also requires that agencies create an interagency working
group in order to share best practices and crucial fraud prevention
data, such as the Social Security Administration's data to prevent
payments to deceased individuals.
Mr. Speaker, passing S. 2133 and requiring agencies to adopt a
proactive antifraud approach will not only serve to protect taxpayer
dollars, but increase public confidence in the administration of
government programs, especially benefit programs.
I would like to thank Senator Carper and Senator Thom Tillis for
introducing this good government legislation, and I would like to thank
the Subcommittee on Government Operations chairman Mark Meadows for
championing this bill in the House.
I urge Members to support this bipartisan bill.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mrs. LAWRENCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, the Fraud Reduction and Data Analytics Act is designed
to strengthen Federal agency efforts to combat financial fraud.
Congress has passed a number of bills in the past few years aimed at
curbing improper payments. Fraud in this area is especially harmful. It
stems not from innocent mistakes, but from the willful intent to steal
or misuse taxpayer dollars.
Fraud reduction strategies help reduce these crimes, and the
Government Accountability Office and the inspector general have
recommended that agencies implement such strategies.
The bill before us will require the Director of the Office of
Management and Budget to consult with GAO to develop antifraud guidance
for Federal agencies and then monitor the implementation of this
guidance.
The bill will also require the establishment of a working group of
agency chief financial officers to share best practices and help
disseminate new antifraud techniques. The working group would also be
required to develop a plan for establishing an interagency library of
analytical tools and datasets for agencies and IGs to use in fighting
fraud.
In developing this plan, I believe the working group should look to
the model of the Recovery Operations Center, which was developed to
monitor spending under the Recovery Act of 2009, and which has,
unfortunately, ceased operations.
These are commonsense steps toward solving a serious problem that
everyone should support. I urge members to support S. 2133.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. HURD of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman
from North Carolina (Mr. Meadows), the chairman of the Subcommittee on
Government Operations.
Mr. MEADOWS. I thank Chairman Hurd for his leadership not only on
this, but on so many important topics here in this body. He certainly
is looking after transparency and oversight on behalf of the American
people. I just would like to applaud his leadership there.
{time} 1630
I am proud today, Mr. Speaker, to rise in support of S. 2133, the
Fraud Reduction and Data Analytics Act of 2015. S. 2133 is a bipartisan
bill that will provide agencies a critically important measure for
defeating fraud and protecting taxpayer dollars.
In fiscal year 2014, the GAO reported that a significant portion of
the $124 billion in improper payments were related to fraud. To make
matters worse, all the improper payments increased by a total of $19
billion--that is billion with a B--from the previous fiscal year.
Given the cost of these improper payments to agencies and, as a
result, to the taxpayers, something must be done to block the flow of
these fraudulent and improper payments. S. 2133 will provide the
necessary framework around which agencies can build a strong antifraud
defense system.
Currently, agencies have been overreliant on an after-the-fact
antifraud detection measure which requires the agency to review
payments after they have been made and then make an attempt to recoup
them. S. 2113 actually would require these agencies to develop
proactive measures to identify risk, to analyze known cases of fraud,
and then to develop strategies to prevent future fraud. It will also
protect the American taxpayer dollars from fraud by requiring agencies
to better share data that can be used to fight fraud.
This bill will create a working group of agencies where best
practices and fraud detection and prevention strategies can be shared
throughout the government. By combating fraud, agencies will not only
protect taxpayer dollars, but also increase the trust and confidence in
the administration of government programs.
I would like to thank Senator Carper and Senator Tillis for
introducing this important, good-government legislation, and I urge my
colleagues to support this bill and help better protect the American
taxpayer dollars by voting in favor of S. 2133.
Mrs. LAWRENCE. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. HURD of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of this bill, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hurd) that the House suspend the rules and
pass the bill, S. 2133.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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