Overview
- Congress advanced a response after the GAO reported $186 billion in improper federal payments for fiscal year 2025 and called the problem urgent.
- House Oversight approved nine bills that push agencies to verify eligibility before paying and empower Treasury to block high‑risk payment requests.
- The Senate unanimously passed a bill to extend the time limit for prosecuting fraud in two pandemic-era Small Business Administration programs as part of a broader anti-fraud push.
- GAO data show about 73% of the improper payments came from five areas: Medicare at $57 billion, Medicaid at $37 billion, the Earned Income Tax Credit at $21 billion, SNAP at $10 billion, and the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant program at $10 billion.
- The watchdog said the total likely understates the problem because some programs did not report, such as TANF, and it urged stronger front-end controls, better data, and automatic scrutiny for any new program paying over $100 million.