Bills
| 3.23.22

Should Federal Agencies Use Data Analysis Tools to Detect and Prevent Fraud? (S. 2133)

Do you support or oppose this bill?

What is S. 2133?

(Updated March 15, 2018)

This bill was enacted on June 30, 2016

This bill attempts to cut down on fraud within the federal government by requiring federal agencies to assess the fraud risks in their own departments, and establish new systems for preventing, detecting, and responding to fraud.

Specifically, agencies would be required to:

  • Use data analysis tools to collect and analyze data from incidents of fraud, and use this information — along with data from evaluations, audits, and investigations — to develop better fraud detection and prevention. This process would be similar to the ways credit card companies and other private sector businesses use data analysis to detect fraud.

  • Share anti-fraud best practices with other agencies.

  • Submit regular reports to Congress about their progress in combatting fraud.

Fraud occurs when money is mispaid through deliberate deception, and includes things like identity theft, financial kickbacks, and billing for services not provided.

This bill would require the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to establish guidelines for federal agencies to follow in their identification and assessment of fraud risks. The OMB would also create a working group to help federal agencies better track, detect, and share information about fraud.

Argument in favor

Federal fraud is a real problem and a huge waste of taxpayer money. This bill will require federal agencies to harness the power of technology to detect and prevent fraud.

Argument opposed

Managers of federal agencies should be able to choose their own fraud protection policies. This bill will introduce new rules and data requirements that may be difficult for agencies to meet.

Impact

The Office of Management and Budget, Managers and employees within each of the approximately 25 federal agencies; Congress

Cost of S. 2133

CBO estimates this bill would increase the administrative costs of each major federal agency by roughly $50,000 annually, for a government-wide total of $4 million over the 2016-2020 period. However, it aims to curb a significantly higher amount of improper payments through fraud.

Additional Info

In Depth: Sponsoring Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE) said in a statement:

“We have a responsibility to ensure that federal agencies do a better job managing federal programs and delivering services more efficiently and at a lower cost. Our bill would, among other things, require federal officials to determine what areas of government spending are at the greatest risk for fraud, develop an action plan, and then share those solutions across agencies with similar programs.”


Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC), who sponsored the House version of the bill, said in a statement that the bill would allow the government to:

“monitor, detect, and combat fraud in real-time, rather than relying on end-of-year audits…Federal agencies must be pro-active, not reactive in their anti-fraud efforts.”

Of Note: The bill was written in response to a report published in 2015 by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), which outlined the need for federal agencies to better monitor and prevent fraud.

According to the GAO’s count, the federal government incorrectly paid more than $135 billion in 2015, which includes fraud, waste, and abuse.


Media:

Summary by Katie Rose Quandt
(Image Credit: GotCredit/ Flickr)