H.R. 10326 explained · 119th Congress · Pending in Congress
PROOF Act
Cosponsors: none · per Congress.gov, 2026-10-14
Introduced: 2026-09-10
Latest action (2026-09-17): Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
What H.R. 10326 does, in plain terms
Preventing Rip-offs and Obtaining Oversight of Funds Act or the PROOF Act This bill requires states to provide such information as the Department of Justice (DOJ) may require for the purpose of investigating or prosecuting alleged fraud committed with regard to certain federally funded programs. Programs covered by this requirement include: Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), certain federal payments and grants to state governments related to the coronavirus response, and any other program to which funds are made available to states and identified by DOJ as vulnerable to fraud. A federal agency may only use such information for law enforcement purposes related to fraud and may not disclose it for any unrelated administrative or commercial purpose. DOJ must annually report to Congress on the number of requests for information issued to state agencies under this bill, the programs with respect to which such requests were made, and the number of fraud investigations initiated and convictions secured using the information obtained.
Official summary by the Congressional Research Service, via Congress.gov.
Constitution Index
“VFA Constitution grade”
Constitutionally sound
Graded 2026-10-08
SI-generated grade · five published checks · not individually reviewed by a person · methodology
The PROOF Act is a constitutional exercise of Congress spending and oversight power to protect federal taxpayer funds from fraud, with use limitations and reporting that avoid rights infringement, sovereignty restrictions, and due-process bypass.
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✓ Passes · Enumerated powers
Congress has explicit authority under Article I, Section 8, Clause 1 to spend for the general welfare and to oversee funds it appropriates for Medicaid, SNAP, TANF, and coronavirus programs, plus Article I, Section 8, Clause 18 to make laws necessary and proper to prevent fraud, waste, and abuse in those programs. Requiring cooperating state administrators to furnish records needed to investigate … -
✓ Passes · Bill of Rights
No First, Second, or other Bill of Rights infringement. The Fourth Amendment is the closest question because state-held administrative records are shared with DOJ, but the bill limits collection to fraud investigation in specified federally funded programs, restricts use to law enforcement purposes related to fraud, and bars unrelated administrative or commercial disclosure. It does not authorize … -
✓ Passes · Individual sovereignty
The bill does not restrict what a lawful person may do with their person, property, speech, labor, or belief. It targets fraud committed with regard to public funds and limits federal use of information to fraud-related law enforcement. Law-abiding beneficiaries, providers, and taxpayers face no new prohibition, mandate, or belief-based condition. The burden remains on the government to prove frau… -
✓ Passes · Decentralization
(1) Individuals/families cannot audit multi-state Medicaid, SNAP, TANF, or pandemic-grant fraud alone. (2) Local communities/counties cannot handle interstate program-integrity investigation and prosecution. (3) States can and do investigate fraud, so state handling is possible, but the funds are federal and Congress retains a direct fiduciary interest. (4) The bill does not consolidate general po… -
✓ Passes · Due process and takings
No bypass of procedural or substantive due process under the Fifth Amendment and Fourteenth Amendment. Information is for investigation or prosecution, where presumption of innocence, notice, hearing, counsel, and trial rights still apply. No property is taken without just compensation under the Fifth Amendment Takings Clause; no fines, forfeiture, or punishment occurs without adjudication.
Sources: Congress.gov: HR 10326 summary
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