The White House issued an executive order directing the Department of the Treasury and federal agencies to strengthen pre-payment fraud and improper payment controls for transactions flowing through the United States General Fund, while also moving to consolidate federal financial systems and return more disbursing activity to Treasury. Treasury, in consultation with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), must update guidance and enhance systems so that payments Treasury makes on behalf of agencies are subject to pre-certification verification processes, including compliance with the Do Not Pay Working System and other payee and account validation services. Agencies must cooperate with Treasury on pre-certification and pre-award eligibility checks, and Treasury is instructed to reduce barriers to data use for fraud prevention, including by exercising authorities related to computer matching. Within 90 days of the order, agencies must review and, as applicable, modify their Privacy Act system of records notices to add a “routine use” allowing disclosures to Treasury for identifying, preventing, or recouping fraud and improper payments; Treasury and OMB will also issue guidance on when agencies may provide access to relevant data. The order further anticipates detailed pre-certification criteria for certifying officers, such as confirming funds availability, standardized payee and identifier information, payee death checks, bank account validity, and inclusion of contract and award identifiers, alongside requirements to submit payment files with sufficient lead time and a process to request exemptions. On systems and disbursing structure, OMB must issue guidance within 180 days directing CFO Act agencies to consolidate core financial systems and directing non-CFO Act agencies to consolidate transactional financial management services under a single Treasury-approved provider, with CFO Act agencies expected to use standard solutions available through the Financial Management Marketplace. Treasury must assess within 30 days whether to revoke delegated disbursing authority and work with agencies holding disbursing authority under statute, including the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security and the Department of Justice, to delegate non-classified disbursing activities to Treasury; any remaining non-Treasury disbursing offices must report daily to Treasury’s centralized accounting and reporting system. Agencies must submit compliance plans to OMB within 90 days, and Treasury must provide an implementation report to the President within 180 days.

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