[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 59 (Friday, March 28, 2025)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 14011-14015]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-05524]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 59 / Friday, March 28, 2025 /
Presidential Documents
[[Page 14011]]
Executive Order 14249 of March 25, 2025
Protecting America's Bank Account Against Fraud,
Waste, and Abuse
By the authority vested in me as President by the
Constitution and the laws of the United States of
America, it is hereby ordered:
Section 1. Purpose. Promoting financial integrity and
operational efficiency are critical responsibilities of
the Federal Government. The Federal Government
processes trillions of dollars annually in
disbursements to individuals, businesses, and
organizations, and in receipts from taxes, fees, and
other payments to finance daily and long-term
Government operations. These transactions flow into and
out of the United States General Fund (General Fund),
which might be thought of as America's bank account. In
Fiscal Year 2024, $33.9 trillion flowed into the
General Fund and $33.6 trillion flowed out of the
account, including $5.87 trillion (less net interest)
in benefits, grants, loans, vendor payments, and other
disbursements.
The Department of the Treasury is the largest financial
payment manager of the Federal Government and is
responsible for safeguarding the General Fund, but
lacks sufficient controls to track transactions flowing
through the General Fund to determine if they were
proper. To enforce sufficient controls and ensure
accountability to American taxpayers, the Department of
the Treasury requires financial information from
executive departments and agencies (agencies) beyond
what they currently provide.
Financial fraud threatens the integrity of Federal
programs and undermines trust in Government. Agencies'
past underinvestment in technology and longstanding
challenges with access to accurate data has prevented
them from more fully safeguarding taxpayer dollars
against fraud and improper payments. The Government
Accountability Office estimates that the Federal
Government loses between $233 and $521 billion annually
to fraud.
In addition to being an efficient steward of taxpayer
funds, the Federal Government, on behalf of the
American public, must seek to ensure that financial
information is accurate and that there is transparency
with respect to how taxpayer dollars are being used.
Today, Federal funds are disbursed both by the
Department of the Treasury and various Federal
Government entities that are authorized to issue their
own disbursements known as Non-Treasury Disbursing
Offices (NTDOs). In Fiscal Year 2024, NTDOs were
estimated to be responsible for 181 million payments
totaling over $1.5 trillion (approximately 22 percent
of all Federal Government dollars disbursed). This
fragmentation of disbursing authority, together with
the proliferation of non-standard financial management
systems across the Federal Government, leads to
expensive, disjointed, and duplicative financial
reporting, lack of financial traceability, complicated
financial management, opacity, increased operational
risks, and decreased ability of the Department of the
Treasury to provide centralized oversight.
This order promotes financial integrity by enabling the
Department of the Treasury to more easily conduct
improper payment and fraud prevention screening prior
to disbursing funds on behalf of agencies. This order
increases transparency and accountability by requiring
agencies to provide the Department of the Treasury with
the information needed to track transactions through
the General Fund in greater detail. This order also
promotes operational efficiency by returning disbursing
functions to the Department of
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the Treasury when possible and consolidating and
standardizing core Federal financial systems.
Sec. 2. Policy. It is the policy of the United States
to defend against financial fraud and improper
payments, increase transparency and accountability
around the Federal Government's operations and
financial condition, increase efficiency, reduce costs,
and enhance the security of Federal payments.
Sec. 3. Treasury Verification of Agency Payments
Information. (a) The Secretary of the Treasury, in
consultation with the Director of the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB Director), shall update
guidance and enhance systems to ensure that all
payments made by the Department of the Treasury on
behalf of agencies pursuant to the Secretary of the
Treasury's disbursing authority, including 31 U.S.C.
3321, are subject to pre-certification verification
processes established by the Secretary of the Treasury
and conducted by agencies and the Department of the
Treasury for the purposes of defending against
financial fraud and improper payments, to the greatest
extent permitted by law. Such guidance shall set forth
guidelines for compliance with the Do Not Pay Working
System as described in 31 U.S.C. 3351 et seq., and such
other payment, account, and payee validation programs
and services that the Secretary of the Treasury and the
OMB Director determine to be beneficial for reducing
financial fraud and improper payments.
(b) In accordance with 31 U.S.C. 3354, the heads of
all agencies shall cooperate with the Secretary of the
Treasury to fulfill their obligations to determine
payment or award eligibility through pre-certification
and pre-award procedures, as determined by the
Secretary of the Treasury, including pursuant to
subsection (a) of this section and section 4 of this
order to prevent fraud and improper payments.
(c) The Secretary of the Treasury is directed to
minimize administrative barriers to accessing and using
data to prevent fraud and improper payments by
exercising the authority in 31 U.S.C. 3351 et seq. to
waive the requirements of 5 U.S.C. 552(o), in
consultation with the OMB Director, in any case or
class of cases for computer matching activities, to the
extent permissible by law.
(d) Within 90 days of the date of this order,
agency heads shall review and modify, as applicable,
their relevant system of records notices under the
Privacy Act of 1974 to include a ``routine use'' that
allows for the disclosure of records to the Department
of the Treasury for the purposes of identifying,
preventing, or recouping fraud and improper payments,
to the extent permissible by law.
(e) The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation
with the OMB Director, shall issue guidance to agency
heads on the circumstances in which agency heads, to
the extent permissible by law, may provide the
Secretary of the Treasury with access to data necessary
for the purposes of detecting and preventing fraud and
improper payments, as well as data for payment
information verification (and not, for example, data
such as health records).
Sec. 4. Implementation and Compliance of Payment
Verification. (a) Agency heads, through designated
agency officials (Certifying Officers or COs), who are
responsible for verifying that disbursements made by
the Federal Government are legal, proper, and correct,
and for performing the duties in 31 U.S.C. 3528, shall
comply with the disbursement requirements and
instructions, including pre-certification requirements,
published by the Secretary of the Treasury.
(b) The Secretary of the Treasury shall consider,
as appropriate, issuing instructions to agencies to
enforce the following pre-certification criteria for
disbursement requests submitted by COs (Vouchers)
before they are certified for payment by the CO:
(i) Funds are available at the time the obligation is incurred. If an
obligation is incurred when funds are not available, then the CO shall not
certify the payment.
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(ii) The amount of the payment and the name of the payee on the Voucher are
correct, in conformance with the Department of the Treasury's prescribed
standard format.
(iii) A proper Social Security Number, Taxpayer Identification Number,
Employer Identification Number, Individual Taxpayer Identification Number,
or Payee ID Number is provided for each payee on the Voucher, as
applicable.
(iv) The appropriation or fund from which the payment will be made is
available for the purpose set forth in the Voucher and indicated with the
appropriate Treasury Account Symbol/Business Event Type Code.
(v) Payees are not deceased individuals, to the greatest extent permitted
by law.
(vi) The account number provided on the Voucher is held at a financial
institution and is open, valid, and belongs to the payee or valid designee
of payee.
(vii) Contracts or agreements are referenced on the Voucher by providing
the contract number, referred to as the Procurement Instrument Identifier,
where applicable.
(viii) Financial assistance awards (non-aggregate) are referenced on the
Voucher by providing the award number, referred to as the Federal Award
Identification Number, where applicable.
(ix) For summary schedules, the payments on the Voucher are submitted in
conformance with the Department of the Treasury prescribed standard formats
for such schedules.
(c) Agency heads shall submit payment files other
than with respect to same-day payments to the Secretary
of the Treasury or the Secretary's designee with
sufficient lead time prior to the date of disbursement
as determined by the Department of the Treasury and
provided in the requirements and instructions issued
pursuant to subsections (a) and (b) of this section, to
allow for fraud and improper payment screening, to the
extent permissible by law. With respect to same-day
payments, agency heads shall submit payment files to
the Secretary of the Treasury or the Secretary's
designee as much in advance as reasonably practicable.
(d) In issuing requirements and instructions
pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, the
Secretary of the Treasury shall consider whether it
would be appropriate to provide that the Department of
the Treasury's Chief Disbursing Officer return to the
relevant agency for reconciliation any payments that do
not pass the pre-certification verification processes
established pursuant to section 3(a) of this order and
notify the designated CO.
(e) The Secretary of the Treasury shall include in
the guidance issued pursuant to subsection (a) of this
section, or in other regulations or guidance, a
transparent process for agencies to request exemptions
from some or all of the payment verification
requirements for specific payments or categories of
payments.
Sec. 5. Core Financial System Consolidation. (a) Within
180 days of the date of this order, the OMB Director
shall issue guidance that directs agencies described in
31 U.S.C. 901(b) (CFO Act agencies) to consolidate
their core financial systems.
(b) As soon as practicable, but not later than 180
days of the date of this order, the OMB Director, in
consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, shall
issue guidance directing all non-CFO Act agencies to
consolidate transactional financial management services
under a single provider approved by the Department of
the Treasury.
(c) As soon as practicable, all heads of CFO Act
agencies shall use standard financial management
solutions available through the Financial Management
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Marketplace, administered by the Financial Management
Quality Service Management Office.
(d) Agency heads shall ensure that core financial
systems comply with Federal accounting and financial
reporting standards and relevant regulations, orders,
guidance documents, policy statements, and other agency
actions published by the Department of the Treasury
from time to time.
Sec. 6. Reduction of NTDOs. (a) Within 30 days of the
date of this order, the Secretary of the Treasury shall
assess whether to maintain disbursing authority that it
has delegated to agencies pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 3321(b)
and issue notices to revoke such delegations, as
appropriate, in accordance with applicable law.
(b) The heads of agencies with disbursing authority
under 31 U.S.C. 3321(c), including the Secretary of
Defense, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the
Attorney General (but excluding, for the avoidance of
doubt, the Supreme Court and other entities of the
Federal Government outside the Executive Branch) will
work with the Secretary of the Treasury to delegate the
performance of their disbursing activities, other than
with respect to classified payments, to the Department
of the Treasury's Chief Disbursing Officer in
accordance with applicable law.
(c) Notwithstanding subsections (a) or (b) of this
section, the Secretary of the Treasury may continue to
delegate disbursing authority to NTDOs at other
agencies when doing so would align with significant
Government priorities. Any remaining NTDOs are required
to report daily to the Department of the Treasury's
centralized accounting and reporting system in
accordance with then-current Department of the Treasury
guidance and applicable law.
(d) The Secretary of the Treasury shall develop a
plan to centralize and manage all payments previously
disbursed by NTDOs, ensuring seamless continuity of
Government payments.
(e) The Secretary of the Treasury, in coordination
with agency heads, shall establish a transition plan
for agencies currently operating as NTDOs, including
staffing adjustments, system integrations, and legal or
regulatory modifications necessary for full
consolidation.
(f) The heads of agencies with disbursing authority
delegated to the agency under 33 U.S.C. 3321(b) shall
decommission all internal payment systems and use the
Department of the Treasury's disbursement systems,
except and to the extent authorized by the Department
of the Treasury or otherwise required by applicable
law.
Sec. 7. Reporting and Implementation Requirements. (a)
The heads of all agencies shall submit a compliance
plan to the OMB Director within 90 days of the date of
this order detailing their strategy for:
(i) transitioning disbursing authority to the Department of the Treasury,
as applicable and as contemplated by this order;
(ii) updating and integrating systems with Department of the Treasury
platforms;
(iii) procedures to verify payment information as contemplated by this
order; and
(iv) transmitting information associated with improper payments to the
Department of the Treasury in accordance with standards and reporting
specifications established by the OMB Director in coordination with the
Secretary of the Treasury as contemplated by this order.
(b) The Secretary of the Treasury shall submit an
implementation report to the President through the
Assistant to the President for Economic Policy within
180 days of the date of this order detailing progress
on the matters set forth in this order.
(c) The Secretary of the Treasury and agency heads
shall take all necessary steps to protect classified
information and systems, as well as personally
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identifiable information and tax return information,
through the implementation of this order.
Sec. 8. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order
shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or
the head thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with
applicable law and subject to the availability of
appropriations.
(c) This order is not intended to, and does not,
create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural,
enforceable at law or in equity by any party against
the United States, its departments, agencies, or
entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any
other person.
(Presidential Sig.)
THE WHITE HOUSE,
March 25, 2025.
[FR Doc. 2025-05524
Filed 3-27-25; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F4-P