Lubbock Times

On May 22, 2024, the House Budget Committee reported H.R. 8342, the "Improper Payments Transparency Act," favorably with a bipartisan vote of 18-7. The legislation, spearheaded by Rep. Rudy Yakym (R-IN), Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), Rep. Jack Bergman (R-MI), and Rep. Scott Peters (D-CA), mandates that the President include detailed information on improper payments in each executive branch agency's budget request.

The bill requires year-over-year trends, explanations for these trends, and summaries of corrective actions taken to address improper payments.

Various stakeholders and experts have voiced their support for H.R. 8342:

Matt Weidinger from the American Enterprise Institute stated, "Such transparency is a necessary ingredient to recognizing when programs are failing to reach their intended recipients and fixing them through executive branch actions or legislation if needed." He added his personal support for the act.

Michele Stockwell of BPC Action described the bill as "an important step forward by providing lawmakers the information they need to effectively partner with agencies to reduce and prevent improper payments."

Tom Schatz from the Council for Citizens Against Economic Waste remarked, "The Improper Payments Transparency Act would fill these gaps by requiring the President’s budget request to include details on why improper payments occurred, steps federal agencies are taking to reduce improper payments, and the status of those steps."

Paul Winfree of the Economic Policy Innovation Center noted that it would be "a useful first step in acknowledging the full scope of the problem of improper payments" and would necessitate an accounting strategy within the President's budget.

Tarren Bragdon from the Foundation for Government Accountability emphasized its importance: "Understanding the full scope of [improper payment] problems will be helpful in instituting stronger eligibility checks and verification measures."

Ryan Walker from Heritage Action pointed out that while Americans face economic challenges, government spending lacks oversight: "If bureaucrats lose, waste, or misuse public funds...the least [they] can do is own up to its mistakes and fix them."

Adam Andrzejewski from Open the Books highlighted that accurate communication about improper payments would better equip lawmakers and agencies to address such issues: "The Improper Payments Transparency Act would ensure that...critical data [is] submitted as part of [the] President’s annual budget request."