President Trump Takes Action to Boost Oversight of Federal Spending and Combat Fraud

President Donald J. Trump on Tuesday signed an Executive Order aimed at bolstering financial integrity and curbing waste and fraud within the federal government. This order empowers the Department of the Treasury with greater authority to modernize its systems, enhance payment verification processes, and centralize oversight of disbursements, all in an effort to safeguard taxpayer dollars.

Enhancing Treasury Oversight and Stopping Improper Payments

The Executive Order instructs the Treasury Department to refresh its guidelines and roll out advanced systems across federal agencies, ensuring that every payment goes through a rigorous pre-certification verification process. This initiative is all about catching and preventing fraudulent or improper payments before any funds are handed out.

Agency leaders are now required to adhere to stricter Treasury protocols, which include:
• Confirming that there are enough funds available before any commitments are made.
• Verifying payee details to guarantee that payments go to the right people.
• Making sure that payments originate from authorized sources.
• Implementing improved certification processes to minimize errors and fraud.

To further enhance fraud prevention, agencies will need to share relevant data with the Treasury, while still respecting legal restrictions, to improve the detection and tracking of potential financial irregularities.

Streamlining Core Financial Systems for Greater Efficiency

The Executive Order also requires federal agencies to consolidate their core financial management systems, including those of non-CFO Act agencies, onto standardized platforms. This move is expected to enhance financial reporting and traceability throughout the federal government.

A significant part of this initiative involves reducing the number of Non-Treasury Disbursing Offices (NTDOs), which currently manage 22% of federal payments. The Treasury will create a plan to transition these disbursements to a more centralized system.