Real bill currently in Congress c/o HR/119/8464
Stopping Fraudulent Payments Act
Latest action (2026-06-11): Received in the Senate.
Official summary
Stopping Fraudulent Payments Act This bill establishes requirements to prevent fraudulent or improper payments from federal programs. Specifically, the bill directs executive agencies to take corrective actions to temporarily pause, condition, or segment payment voucher requests before certifying them if the agencies have sufficient reason to determine that the payments present elevated risks of fraud or improper payments resulting in financial loss to the government. The corrective actions must be (1) based on objective, documented fraud-risk indicators; (2) narrowly applied to the portion of the payments presenting the elevated risk; and (3) limited in duration to the minimum period necessary to verify the eligibility or accuracy of the payments. The Department of the Treasury must return certified payment vouchers to agencies for corrective action if they present an elevated risk of fraud based on an output of Treasury’s Do Not Pay system. The bill also prohibits officers or employees of the federal government from being personally liable for actions taken in good faith under this bill.
The Framers
“Founders’ Verdict”
Confidence 0.50
Synthesis
The bill is constitutional only if implemented with strict adherence to objective fraud indicators, due process safeguards, and without infringing on executive discretion or state powers.
The bill is a proper exercise of Congress's power under Article I, Section 8, Clause 1 to provide for the general welfare and to ensure that public funds are disbursed only for authorized purposes. The requirement that executive agencies pause or condition payments based on objective fraud indicators is a necessary regulation of the Treasury's payment process, consistent with Congress's power to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the powers vested in the government (Article I, Section 8, Clause 18). The prohibition on personal liability for good-faith…
The bill's purpose of preventing fraud is laudable, but its means raise serious concerns under the Constitution. The Tenth Amendment reserves to the States or the people all powers not delegated to the United States. The federal government possesses only enumerated powers, and the general police power to prevent fraud is not among them. However, the Spending Clause (Article I, Section 8, Clause 1) does grant Congress power to pay the debts and provide for the general welfare, which may include measures to ensure that federal funds are not misappropriated. The bill's provisions directing execut…
This bill directs executive agencies to take corrective actions based on objective, documented fraud-risk indicators and limits those actions narrowly in scope and duration. It thus aligns with the constitutional duty of the President to 'take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed' (Article II, Section 3) while respecting the separation of powers by not aggrandizing executive discretion beyond necessary checks. Furthermore, the requirement that Treasury return vouchers for corrective action before payment is a proper exercise of Congress's power to 'make all Laws which shall be necessary a…
This bill, in its essence, seeks to empower executive agencies to withhold or condition payments based on fraud-risk indicators. The Constitution vests in Congress the power of the purse, and the executive is bound to execute the laws faithfully. However, the bill's provisions must be examined under the necessary and proper clause and the principle of separation of powers. If the bill merely provides a framework for the executive to exercise discretion in preventing fraud—a legitimate governmental interest—and does not delegate legislative power or violate the principle that the executive must…
What should pass
“AI Consensus Solution”
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