{
  "id": "R44702",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "R44702",
  "active": true,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 587520,
      "date": "2016-12-07",
      "retrieved": "2020-01-02T15:03:18.008041",
      "title": "Improper Payments Legislation: Key Provisions, Implementation, and Selected Proposals in the 114th Congress",
      "summary": "As Congress searches for ways to generate savings, reduce the deficit, and fund federal programs, it has held hearings and passed legislation to prevent and recover improper payments. Improper payments\u2014which exceeded $137 billion in FY2015\u2014are payments made in an incorrect amount, payments that should not have been made at all, or payments made to an ineligible recipient or for an ineligible purpose. The total amount of improper payments may be even higher than reported because several agencies have yet to determine improper payment amounts for all of their programs.\nIn 2002, Congress passed the Improper Payments Information Act (IPIA; P.L. 107-300; 116 Stat. 2350), which established an initial framework for identifying, measuring, preventing, and reporting on improper payments at each agency. That same year, Congress also passed legislation, the Recovery Audit Act (P.L. 107-107; Section 831; 115 Stat. 1186), which required agencies that awarded more than $500 million annually in contracts to establish programs to recover overpayments to contractors.\nCongress passed new legislation, the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act of 2010 (IPERA, P.L. 111-204; 124 Stat. 2224), which replaced and consolidated the requirements of both IPIA and the Recovery Audit Act. IPERA retained the core provisions of the IPIA while requiring improvements in agency improper payment estimation methodologies and improper payment reduction plans. It also significantly expanded the scope and reporting requirements of recovery audit programs.\nThe Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Improvement Act of 2012 (IPERIA; P.L. 112-248; 126 Stat. 2390) requires agencies to improve the quality of oversight for high-dollar and high-risk programs, and mandates that agencies share data regarding recipient eligibility and payment amounts. In addition, IPERIA requires the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to examine the rates and amounts of improper payments that agencies have recovered and establish targets for increasing those amounts.\nImplementation of improper payments legislation has been uneven across the government. While error rates have decreased for some programs, they have increased for others\u2014including some high-priority programs with billions in annual outlays. Some agencies have not established error rates for all of their risk-susceptible programs, or have not consistently reported required improper payments reduction goals. Data sharing among agencies\u2014a key tool for preventing improper payments\u2014has been limited, and some agencies have not implemented and reported on their recovery audit programs, despite being required by law to do so. \nThe Fraud Reduction and Data Analytics Act of 2015 (H.R. 4180/S. 2133) would require the OMB to establish financial and administrative controls related to fraud and improper payments. Agencies would be required to include in their annual financial reports a discussion of their progress in implementing fraud risk guidance. OMB would also be required to establish a working group to improve the sharing of (1) best practices for mitigating fraud, and (2) effective data analytics techniques. The working group would also submit a plan to Congress for establishing an interagency library of data analytics and data sets, which would be used by federal agencies and IGs to facilitate the detection, prevention, and recovery of fraud, including improper payments.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
      "active": true,
      "formats": [
        {
          "format": "HTML",
          "encoding": "utf-8",
          "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/R44702",
          "sha1": "f47e05e80db4e5b5f68efa25908d44bd04ba787f",
          "filename": "files/20161207_R44702_f47e05e80db4e5b5f68efa25908d44bd04ba787f.html",
          "images": {}
        },
        {
          "format": "PDF",
          "encoding": null,
          "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R44702",
          "sha1": "92358d2d579cd80100c67ca99177690739928eb0",
          "filename": "files/20161207_R44702_92358d2d579cd80100c67ca99177690739928eb0.pdf",
          "images": {}
        }
      ],
      "topics": []
    }
  ],
  "topics": [
    "American Law",
    "National Defense"
  ]
}