PRAC Chair Michael E. Horowitz testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Accountability Government Operations and the Federal Workforce Subcommittee in a hearing titled, “Where Do We Go from Here? Examining a Path Forward to Assess Agencies’ Efforts to Prevent Improper Payments and Fraud.”
In his testimony, Chair Horowitz emphasized:
for Enhanced Program Integrity.
The PRAC uses its law enforcement and CARES Act authorities to partner on data-driven investigations, hold wrongdoers accountable, and protect taxpayer dollars from fraud and improper payments.
The Pandemic Analytics Center of Excellence's (PACE) law enforcement authority sets it apart from other data analytics platforms, allowing it to access law enforcement-sensitive data to find hidden connections involving multi-program criminal schemes.
Congress should consider bipartisan legislation to sustain the PACE and allow investigators to fully pursue fraud.
Sustaining and expanding the PACE would save taxpayers millions, if not billions of dollars, by eliminating the need to recreate a data analytics center in response to the next crisis and continuing the critical work of preventing fraud and improper payments.
Now is the time to prepare for future emergencies and safeguard annual federal spending.
The Blueprint for Enhanced Program Integrity highlights the need for program administrators and policymakers to apply pandemic lessons learned when designing future government programs.
Read the Chair's full statement.