House Vote Imminent: Stopping Fraudulent Payments Act (HR 8464)

What is happening:  The House is expected to vote as early as next week on HR 8464, the Stopping Fraudulent Payments Act, introduced by House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY). The National Council of Nonprofits opposes the bill and is urging nonprofits to contact their House Representatives now to flag concerns — particularly moderate Republicans — before the vote. NCN’s goal is to raise sufficient concerns that leadership delays bringing the bill to the floor or that it fails to garner needed support. 

What the bill does:  HR 8464 would grant the U.S. Treasury authority to order federal agencies to pause, segment, or condition federal funding disbursements if Treasury determines there is an “elevated risk of fraud.” The bill shifts the federal approach from recovering improper payments after the fact to pausing them before disbursement. It passed the House Oversight Committee 23-17 along party lines — a stark contrast to seven other anti-fraud bills in the same markup package that passed 40-0. 

Why NCN opposes it:  NCN is committed to addressing fraud in federal programs, but has serious concerns about this specific bill: 

• Key terms — including “elevated risk of fraud” — are not defined, creating conditions for inconsistent, unpredictable, or overly broad application of the law. 

• There is no clear timetable for agency action and no defined process for grantees to appeal an adverse decision — nonprofits could face funding pauses with no recourse or timeline for resolution. 

• A provision allowing federal agencies to waive bill requirements is unclear in its application. 

• The bill may inadvertently limit, rather than expand, agency discretion over how to handle potentially fraudulent payments, and allows Treasury to override decisions made by agencies with direct program knowledge. 

The contrast with bipartisan alternatives:  Seven other anti-fraud bills passed the same committee markup 40-0 with bipartisan support. NCN encourages Congress to prioritize these alternatives, which focus on improving technology infrastructure, adding staff capacity, and strengthening pre-payment data analysis without giving Treasury vague authority to freeze nonprofit funding. The bipartisan alternatives include: 

• HR 1755 — Timely and Accurate Benefits Act 

• HR 8107 — Government Audit and Accountability of Federally Funded State-Administered Programs Act 

• HR 8340 — Taxpayer Funds Oversight and Accountability Act 

• HR 8428 — Federal Fraud Prevention Workforce Training Act 

• HR 8463 — Pre-Payment Fraud Prevention and Treasury Data Access Act 

• HR 8467 — Zeroing Out Monetary Benefits Improperly Expended Act 
• HR 8466 — Taxpayer Resources Used in Emergencies Accountability Act 

Resources:  Center on Budget and Policy Priorities analysis of HR 8464 |NCN advocacy resources