134 STAT. 113 PUBLIC LAW 116–117—MAR. 2, 2020 Public Law 116–117 116th Congress An Act To improve efforts to identify and reduce Governmentwide improper payments, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Payment Integrity Information Act of 2019’’. SEC. 2. IMPROPER PAYMENTS. (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 33 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: ‘‘Subchapter IV—Improper Payments ‘‘§ 3351. Definitions ‘‘In this subchapter: ‘‘(1) ANNUAL FINANCIAL STATEMENT.—The term ‘annual financial statement’ means the annual financial statement required under section 3515 of this title or similar provision of law. ‘‘(2) COMPLIANCE.—The term ‘compliance’ means that an executive agency— ‘‘(A) has— ‘‘(i) published improper payments information with the annual financial statement of the executive agency for the most recent fiscal year; and ‘‘(ii) posted on the website of the executive agency that statement and any accompanying materials required under guidance of the Office of Management and Budget; ‘‘(B) if required, has conducted a program specific risk assessment for each program or activity that conforms with the requirements under section 3352(a); ‘‘(C) if required, publishes improper payments esti- mates for all programs and activities identified under sec- tion 3352(a) in the accompanying materials to the annual financial statement; ‘‘(D) publishes programmatic corrective action plans prepared under section 3352(d) that the executive agency may have in the accompanying materials to the annual financial statement; ‘‘(E) publishes improper payments reduction targets established under section 3352(d) that the executive agency 31 USC 3351. 31 USC 3351 prec. Payment Integrity Information Act of 2019. 31 USC 3301 note. Mar. 2, 2020 [S. 375] VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:09 May 19, 2020 Jkt 099139 PO 00117 Frm 00001 Fmt 6580 Sfmt 6581 E:\PUBLAW\PUBL117.116 PUBL117 dkrause on LAP5T8D0R2PROD with PUBLAWS 134 STAT. 114 PUBLIC LAW 116–117—MAR. 2, 2020 may have in the accompanying materials to the annual financial statement for each program or activity assessed to be at risk, and has demonstrated improvements and developed a plan to meet the reduction targets; and ‘‘(F) has reported an improper payment rate of less than 10 percent for each program and activity for which an estimate was published under section 3352(c). ‘‘(3) DO NOT PAY INITIATIVE.—The term ‘Do Not Pay Initia- tive’ means the initiative described in section 3354(b). ‘‘(4) IMPROPER PAYMENT.—The term ‘improper payment’— ‘‘(A) means any payment that should not have been made or that was made in an incorrect amount, including an overpayment or underpayment, under a statutory, contractual, administrative, or other legally applicable requirement; and ‘‘(B) includes— ‘‘(i) any payment to an ineligible recipient; ‘‘(ii) any payment for an ineligible good or service; ‘‘(iii) any duplicate payment; ‘‘(iv) any payment for a good or service not received, except for those payments where authorized by law; and ‘‘(v) any payment that does not account for credit for applicable discounts. ‘‘(5) PAYMENT.—The term ‘payment’ means any transfer or commitment for future transfer of Federal funds such as cash, securities, loans, loan guarantees, and insurance subsidies to any non-Federal person or entity or a Federal employee, that is made by a Federal agency, a Federal contractor, a Federal grantee, or a governmental or other organization administering a Federal program or activity. ‘‘(6) PAYMENT FOR AN INELIGIBLE GOOD OR SERVICE.—The term ‘payment for an ineligible good or service’ includes a payment for any good or service that is rejected under any provision of any contract, grant, lease, cooperative agreement, or other funding mechanism. ‘‘(7) RECOVERY AUDIT.—The term ‘recovery audit’ means a recovery audit described in section 3352(i). ‘‘(8) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means each State of the United States, the District of Columbia, each territory or posses- sion of the United States, and each Federally recognized Indian tribe. ‘‘§ 3352. Estimates of improper payments and reports on actions to reduce improper payments ‘‘(a) IDENTIFICATION OF SUSCEPTIBLE PROGRAMS AND ACTIVI- TIES.— ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The head of each executive agency shall, in accordance with guidance prescribed by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget— ‘‘(A) periodically review all programs and activities that the head of the executive agency administers; and ‘‘(B) identify all programs and activities with outlays exceeding the statutory threshold dollar amount described in paragraph (3)(A)(i) that may be susceptible to significant improper payments. Review. Guidance. 31 USC 3352. VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:09 May 19, 2020 Jkt 099139 PO 00117 Frm 00002 Fmt 6580 Sfmt 6581 E:\PUBLAW\PUBL117.116 PUBL117 dkrause on LAP5T8D0R2PROD with PUBLAWS 134 STAT. 115 PUBLIC LAW 116–117—MAR. 2, 2020 ‘‘(2) FREQUENCY.—A review under paragraph (1) shall be performed for each program and activity that the head of an executive agency administers not less frequently than once every 3 fiscal years. ‘‘(3) RISK ASSESSMENTS.— ‘‘(A) DEFINITION OF SIGNIFICANT.—In this paragraph, the term ‘significant’ means that, in the preceding fiscal year, the sum of a program or activity’s improper payments and payments whose propriety cannot be determined by the executive agency due to lacking or insufficient docu- mentation may have exceeded— ‘‘(i) $10,000,000 of all reported program or activity payments of the executive agency made during that fiscal year and 1.5 percent of program outlays; or ‘‘(ii) $100,000,000. ‘‘(B) SCOPE.—In conducting a review under paragraph (1), the head of each executive agency shall take into account those risk factors that are likely to contribute to a susceptibility to significant improper payments, such as— ‘‘(i) whether the program or activity reviewed is new to the executive agency; ‘‘(ii) the complexity of the program or activity reviewed; ‘‘(iii) the volume of payments made through the program or activity reviewed; ‘‘(iv) whether payments or payment eligibility decisions are made outside of the executive agency, such as by a State or local government; ‘‘(v) recent major changes in program funding, authorities, practices, or procedures; ‘‘(vi) the level, experience, and quality of training for personnel responsible for making program eligi- bility determinations or certifying that payments are accurate; ‘‘(vii) significant deficiencies in the audit report of the executive agency or other relevant management findings that might hinder accurate payment certifi- cation; ‘‘(viii) similarities to other programs or activities that have reported improper payment estimates or been deemed susceptible to significant improper pay- ments; ‘‘(ix) the accuracy and reliability of improper pay- ment estimates previously reported for the program or activity, or other indicator of potential susceptibility to improper payments identified by the Inspector Gen- eral of the executive agency, the Government Account- ability Office, other audits performed by or on behalf of the Federal, State, or local government, disclosures by the executive agency, or any other means; ‘‘(x) whether the program or activity lacks informa- tion or data systems to confirm eligibility or provide for other payment integrity needs; and ‘‘(xi) the risk of fraud as assessed by the executive agency under the Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government published by the Government Time period. VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:09 May 19, 2020 Jkt 099139 PO 00117 Frm 00003 Fmt 6580 Sfmt 6581 E:\PUBLAW\PUBL117.116 PUBL117 dkrause on LAP5T8D0R2PROD with PUBLAWS 134 STAT. 116 PUBLIC LAW 116–117—MAR. 2, 2020 Accountability Office (commonly known as the ‘Green Book’). ‘‘(C) ANNUAL REPORT.—Each executive agency shall publish an annual report that includes— ‘‘(i) a listing of each program or activity identified under paragraph (1), including the date on which the program or activity was most recently assessed for risk under paragraph (1); and ‘‘(ii) a listing of any program or activity for which the executive agency makes any substantial changes to the methodologies of the reviews conducted under paragraph (1). ‘‘(b) IMPROVING THE DETERMINATION OF IMPROPER PAYMENTS.— ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Office of Manage- ment and Budget shall on an annual basis— ‘‘(A) identify a list of high-priority Federal programs for greater levels of oversight and review— ‘‘(i) in which the highest dollar value or highest rate of improper payments occur; or ‘‘(ii) for which there is a higher risk of improper payments; and ‘‘(B) in coordination with the executive agency respon- sible for administering a high-priority program identified under subparagraph (A), establish annual targets and semi- annual or quarterly actions for reducing improper pay- ments associated with the high-priority program. ‘‘(2) REPORT ON HIGH-PRIORITY IMPROPER PAYMENTS.— ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to Federal privacy policies and to the extent permitted by law, each executive agency with a program identified under paragraph (1)(A) shall on an annual basis submit to the Inspector General of the executive agency and the Office of Management and Budget, and make available to the public, including through a website, a report on that program. ‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—Each report submitted under subparagraph (A)— ‘‘(i) shall describe any action the executive agency— ‘‘(I) has taken or plans to take to recover improper payments; and ‘‘(II) intends to take to prevent future improper payments; and ‘‘(ii) shall not include— ‘‘(I) any referrals the executive agency made or anticipates making to the Department of Jus- tice; or ‘‘(II) any information provided in connection with a referral described in subclause (I). ‘‘(C) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY ON CENTRAL WEBSITE.—The Office of Management and Budget shall make each report submitted under subparagraph (A) available on a central website. ‘‘(D) AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION TO INSPECTOR GEN- ERAL.—Subparagraph (B)(ii) shall not prohibit any referral or information being made available to an Inspector Gen- eral as otherwise provided by law. Time period. Public information. Web posting. Coordination. Lists. Time period. Lists. VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:09 May 19, 2020 Jkt 099139 PO 00117 Frm 00004 Fmt 6580 Sfmt 6581 E:\PUBLAW\PUBL117.116 PUBL117 dkrause on LAP5T8D0R2PROD with PUBLAWS 134 STAT. 117 PUBLIC LAW 116–117—MAR. 2, 2020 ‘‘(E) ASSESSMENT AND RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Inspector General of each executive agency that submits a report under subparagraph (A) shall, for each program of the executive agency that is identified under paragraph (1)(A)— ‘‘(i) review— ‘‘(I) the assessment of the level of risk associ- ated with the program and the quality of the improper payment estimates and methodology of the executive agency relating to the program; and ‘‘(II) the oversight or financial controls to iden- tify and prevent improper payments under the program; and ‘‘(ii) submit to the appropriate authorizing and appropriations committees of Congress recommenda- tions, which may be included in another report sub- mitted by the Inspector General to Congress, for modi- fying any plans of the executive agency relating to the program, including improvements for improper payments determination and estimation methodology. ‘‘(F) ANNUAL MEETING.—Not less frequently than once every year, the head of each executive agency with a pro- gram identified under paragraph (1)(A), or a designee of the head of the executive agency, shall meet with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, or a designee of the Director, to report on actions taken during the preceding year and planned actions to prevent improper payments. ‘‘(c) ESTIMATION OF IMPROPER PAYMENTS.— ‘‘(1) ESTIMATION.—With respect to each program and activity identified under subsection (a)(1), the head of the rel- evant executive agency shall— ‘‘(A) produce a statistically valid estimate, or an esti- mate that is otherwise appropriate using a methodology approved by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, of the improper payments made under the program or activity; and ‘‘(B) include the estimates described in subparagraph (A) in the accompanying materials to the annual financial statement of the executive agency and as required in applicable guidance of the Office of Management and Budget. ‘‘(2) LACKING OR INSUFFICIENT DOCUMENTATION.— ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For the purpose of producing an estimate under paragraph (1), when the executive agency cannot determine, due to lacking or insufficient documenta- tion, whether a payment is proper or not, the payment shall be treated as an improper payment. ‘‘(B) SEPARATE REPORT.—The head of an executive agency may report separately on what portion of the improper payments estimate for a program or activity of the executive agency under paragraph (1) is attributable to lacking or insufficient documentation. ‘‘(d) REPORTS ON ACTIONS TO REDUCE IMPROPER PAYMENTS.— With respect to any program or activity of an executive agency with estimated improper payments under subsection (c), the head of the executive agency shall provide with the estimate required Review. VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:09 May 19, 2020 Jkt 099139 PO 00117 Frm 00005 Fmt 6580 Sfmt 6581 E:\PUBLAW\PUBL117.116 PUBL117 dkrause on LAP5T8D0R2PROD with PUBLAWS 134 STAT. 118 PUBLIC LAW 116–117—MAR. 2, 2020 under subsection (c) a report on what actions the executive agency is taking to reduce improper payments, including— ‘‘(1) a description of the causes of the improper payments, actions planned or taken to correct those causes, and the planned or actual completion date of the actions taken to address those causes; ‘‘(2) in order to reduce improper payments to a level below which further expenditures to reduce improper payments would cost more than the amount those expenditures would save in prevented or recovered improper payments, a statement of whether the executive agency has what is needed with respect to— ‘‘(A) internal controls; ‘‘(B) human capital; and ‘‘(C) information systems and other infrastructure; ‘‘(3) if the executive agency does not have sufficient resources to establish and maintain effective internal controls as described in paragraph (2)(A), a description of the resources the executive agency has requested in the budget submission of the executive agency to establish and maintain those internal controls; ‘‘(4) program-specific and activity-specific improper pay- ments [Text truncated for display. 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