SEPTEMBER 28, 2000
THOMPSON RECOVERY AUDITING BILL APPROVED BY
GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
LEGISLATION PROVIDES TOOL TO HELP DETECT WASTE,
FRAUD AND ABUSE OF TAXPAYER DOLLARS
WASHINGTON, DC - Senate Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman
Fred Thompson
(R- TN) today announced that the Committee has approved his
legislation to assist federal agencies in recovering some of the
billions of dollars they pay improperly each year. The bill, S.
3030, would require the use of a management technique called
`recovery auditing' which would be applied to a federal agency's
records to identify improper payments or payment errors.
"Recovery auditing will go a long way in addressing the
wasted taxpayer dollars and government inefficiencies resulting
from federal agency payment errors which are made each year,"
said Senator Thompson. "We recently reported that $20.7
billion in taxpayer dollars was lost by just a handful of federal
programs. Most agencies don't even know how much they're losing,
and this legislation will help address that."
Recovery auditing involves the use of computer software
programs that are capable of analyzing contract and payment
records in order to identify discrepancies in those records
between what was owed and what was paid. The audits focus on items
like duplicate payments or failure to get credit for applicable
discounts and allowances.
The Thompson bill requires executive branch agencies to conduct
recovery auditing for all of their payment activities that account
for more than $500 million annually. The Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) can grant exceptions where recovery auditing would
not be
practical or cost-effective. Agencies could conduct recovery
audits in-house or through contractors. The bill would also allow
agencies to use a portion of their recoveries to improve the
management of agency operations.
Similar legislation, authored by House Government Reform
Chairman Dan Burton (R-IN-6), has passed the House. The Thompson
bill now goes to the full Senate.
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