[Federal Register: March 15, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 49)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Page 12119-12120]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr15mr10-111]
Presidential Documents
___________________________________________________________________
Title 3--
The President
[[Page 12119]]
Memorandum of March 10, 2010
Finding And Recapturing Improper Payments
Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and
Agencies
My Administration is committed to reducing payment
errors and eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse in
Federal programs--a commitment reflected in Executive
Order 13520 of November 20, 2009, Reducing Improper
Payments. Executive departments and agencies should use
every tool available to identify and subsequently
reclaim the funds associated with improper payments.
Thorough identification of improper payments promotes
accountability at executive departments and agencies;
it also makes the integrity of Federal spending
transparent to taxpayers. Reclaiming the funds
associated with improper payments is a critical
component of the proper stewardship and protection of
taxpayer dollars, and it underscores that waste, fraud,
and abuse by entities receiving Federal payments will
not be tolerated.
Today, to further intensify efforts to reclaim improper
payments, my Administration is expanding the use of
``Payment Recapture Audits,'' which have proven to be
effective mechanisms for detecting and recapturing
payment errors. A Payment Recapture Audit is a process
of identifying improper payments paid to contractors or
other entities whereby highly skilled accounting
specialists and fraud examiners use state-of-the-art
tools and technology to examine payment records and
uncover such problems as duplicate payments, payments
for services not rendered, overpayments, and fictitious
vendors. (A Payment Recapture Audit as used in this
memorandum shall have the same meaning as the term
``recovery audit'' as defined in Appendix C to Office
of Management and Budget Circular A-123.) One approach
that has worked effectively is using professional and
specialized auditors on a contingency basis, with their
compensation tied to the identification of misspent
funds.
Therefore, I hereby direct executive departments and
agencies to expand their use of Payment Recapture
Audits, to the extent permitted by law and where cost-
effective. The Director of the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) shall develop guidance within 90 days of
the date of this memorandum on actions executive
departments and agencies must take to carry out the
requirements of this memorandum. The guidance may
require additional actions and strategies designed to
improve the recapture of improper payments, including,
as appropriate, agency-specific targets for increasing
recoveries. The Director of the OMB shall further
coordinate with the Council for Inspectors General on
Integrity and Efficiency to identify an appropriate
process for obtaining review by Inspectors General of
the effectiveness of agency efforts under this
memorandum. The agencies' expanded use of Payment
Recapture Audits does not preclude Offices of
Inspectors General from performing any activities to
identify and prevent improper payments.
Nothing in this memorandum shall be construed to
require the disclosure of classified information, law
enforcement sensitive information, or other information
that must be protected in the interests of national
security.
This memorandum is not intended to, and does not,
create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural,
enforceable at law or in equity by any party against
the United States, its departments, agencies, or
entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any
other person.
[[Page 12120]]
The Director of the OMB is hereby authorized and
directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal
Register.
(Presidential Sig.)
THE WHITE HOUSE,
WASHINGTON, March 10, 2010
[FR Doc. 2010-5685
Filed 3-12-10; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3110-01-P