This bill mandates detailed reporting and public transparency for federal spending, enhances data sharing across agencies to prevent improper payments, and strengthens verification processes for government disbursements.
Aaron Bean
Representative
FL-4
This bill mandates increased transparency and verification for all federal government spending by requiring agencies to report detailed payment information to the Treasury. It enhances program integrity by granting the Treasury access to new hire and tax data to prevent and recover improper payments. Agencies must also verify recipient bank accounts before disbursement, with exceptions allowed only for sensitive national security or law enforcement operations.
Federal Spending Bill Mandates Payment Transparency, But Expands Government Access to Your Tax and Social Security Data
The “Delivering On Government Efficiency in Spending Act” is essentially a two-part bill: Part one focuses on making federal spending more transparent, and Part two is about giving the government a massive new set of tools—and data—to stop improper payments.
The Check is in the Mail, and Now Everyone Can See It
Section 2 of this bill is a big push for transparency. When a federal agency sends out a payment through the Treasury system, they now have to report the details: what the payment is for, which budget account it came from, and the general activity it covers. The goal is to post this information publicly on the federal spending website within 30 days. Think of it as a detailed, public receipt for almost every dollar the government spends. Furthermore, agencies have to check this payment information annually to make sure it’s still accurate, adding a layer of accountability that wasn't there before.
However, there’s a massive carve-out. If an agency head certifies that reporting a payment would compromise a “sensitive operation”—defined as something related to national security or domestic law enforcement that could lead to injury, death, or reveal classified info—they can keep the details secret. While they eventually have to report this secret spending in an aggregated, unclassified (or classified) annex in future budget documents, the immediate transparency is lost. This opens the door for interpretation: what counts as "sensitive" and who gets to decide? It’s a necessary exception for genuine security needs, but it’s one that will require careful watching to ensure it isn’t used to shield routine or questionable spending from public view.
Data Sharing Gets a Serious Upgrade
Section 3 is where things get interesting—and potentially concerning—for the average person. This section is all about “program integrity,” which means making sure the government pays the right person the right amount. To achieve this, the bill gives the Treasury Secretary unprecedented access to highly sensitive personal data.
First, Treasury gets access to the National Directory of New Hires. This data, which includes employment information, can be shared with Treasury contractors and other authorized federal agencies. If you’re receiving federal benefits, this data could be used to quickly verify your employment status, potentially catching improper payments faster. Second, the bill mandates that the IRS Commissioner share specific tax return information with Treasury for the purpose of enhancing the “Do Not Pay” system. This isn't just your name; it includes your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI), income or loss reported on Schedule C (key for small business owners and freelancers), bank account and routing information, and identity theft flags. Third, the Social Security Administration (SSA) must now regularly provide personally identifiable information, including your name, date of birth, and Social Security number, to Treasury for the same purpose.
For the government, this is a huge win for efficiency, allowing them to cross-reference data points to catch fraud and errors. For you, it means a massive aggregation of your most sensitive financial and identity data—from your tax returns to your SSN and employment history—is now centralized and accessible by the Treasury Department and its contractors. While the goal is noble (stopping improper payments), the increased risk of a data breach and the sheer concentration of personal information is significant.
The Fine Print on Your Financial Life
Finally, the bill changes how payment verification works. Agencies must now verify bank accounts against existing payment records before sending money electronically. More subtly, the bill clarifies that if the government uses a consumer report (like a credit check) to make a payment more accurate—and then changes or stops that payment based on the report—it is not considered a “change” under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). This means that if you’re a recipient of federal payments and an action is taken based on a consumer report, the usual FCRA protections and notification requirements for adverse actions may not apply, potentially limiting your recourse if there’s a mistake in the data.