Romney and Peters Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Strengthen Oversight of Government Spending

• 03.28.2024
• Tags:Budget & Debt, Healthcare

Romney and Peters Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Strengthen Oversight of Government Spending

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senators Mitt Romney (R-UT), Ranking Member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC) Spending Oversight subcommittee, and Gary Peters (D-MI), HSGAC Chairman, introduced bipartisan legislation to strengthen oversight of federal funds vulnerable to fraud. The bill creates the Government Spending Oversight Committee, a successor to the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, to combat and prevent fraud in government spending.

"With the national debt now exceeding $34 trillion, Congress should purse commonsense solutions-like leveraging data analytics-to combat fraud and protect taxpayer dollars," said Senator Romney. "This bill would allow PRAC's successor-the Government Spending and Oversight Committee-to continue its oversight of pandemic-related funds, while also expanding its scope to encompass additional federal spending, including Small Business Administration loans, unemployment insurance, and some of the largest spending programs enacted last Congress."

"It's our duty to ensure government is working efficiently and effectively for the American people," said Senator Peters. "One of the simplest ways to do that is to ensure taxpayer money is going to good use. My new bipartisan bill will provide critical tools to identify and prevent fraud in federal government spending."

"I support the bipartisan legislation, the 'Government Spending Oversight Act of 2024,' which represents an important step forward in maintaining this valuable fraud prevention and fraud fighting tool. I thank Chairman Gary Peters and Senator Mitt Romney for their bipartisan leadership on this good government initiative that will improve the integrity of federal programs, and protect taxpayer dollars from waste, fraud, and abuse," said Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC) Chair Michael E. Horowitz.

"I am very pleased that this incorporates one of GAO's recommendations to help the federal government better combat fraud, waste, and abuse in its programs and spending. It is a step in the right direction in enhancing the accountability and transparency over federal funds on behalf of the American people," said Gene Dodaro, Comptroller General of the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

Background:

As part of legislation to address COVID-19 in early 2020, Congress established the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC) to identify and combat risks of fraud in pandemic-related emergency spending. To date, the PRAC has helped to uncover an estimated $1.95 billion in fraud loss, a significant return on investment. Under current law, the PRAC will terminate on September 30, 2025-eliminating a key tool for Inspectors General (IGs) to uncover fraud in federal government spending.

The bipartisan Government Spending Oversight Actwould extend the PRAC's analytics capabilities, which have helped uncover fraud and protect taxpayer dollars. The bill would create the Government Spending Oversight Committee (GSOC) and authorize it to coordinate with relevant IGs to support investigations, reviews, and audits-including through data analytic tools, enhanced data-sharing, and improved data management practices.