Protecting American Taxpayers Act

This section amends the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 to require states to base child care provider payments on recorded attendance rather than enrollment alone. It also clarifies that payments should be reimbursements for services already provided, not upfront payments. Additionally, providers must maintain attendance records for 7 years for federal audits.

This section requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to notify the HHS Inspector General within 60 days if Medicare, Qualified Health Plan, Medicaid, or CHIP payments for an item/service in a specific zip code/county increase by over 100% in a single year, or if the number of providers increases by over 100% in a single year. The Inspector General must then audit programs with a 400% increase over 5 years.

This section directs the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to issue guidance to all federal agencies to ensure the recovery of all improper payments. It also amends existing law to require agency Inspector General reports to include the amount of improper payments recovered in the fiscal year.

This section prohibits individuals convicted of financial misconduct or false statements related to covered COVID-19 loans or grants (e.g., PPP, EIDL, Shuttered Venue, Restaurant Revitalization) from receiving future financial assistance from the Small Business Administration (SBA), except for disaster loans under section 7(b). Businesses associated with such individuals are also ineligible.

This section mandates that the Inspector General of HHS open an investigation into any state program receiving federal HHS financial assistance if the total amount paid to providers and suppliers increases by 10% or more in any 6-month period compared to the prior 6-month period.

This section rescinds all unobligated balances from amounts made available under six major COVID-19 relief laws, including the American Rescue Plan Act, CARES Act, and others. The President can waive the rescission for national security reasons within 60 days. Rescinded funds are to be used for deficit reduction.

This section expands existing whistleblower protections and awards to federal employees who identify "surplus salaries and expenses funds" within their agencies. Agencies can retain up to 10% of these identified surplus funds, using some for employee cash awards and the remainder for agency use. The rest of the identified surplus funds are transferred to the Treasury for deficit reduction. It also modifies who is eligible for cash awards. This provision sunsets after 6 years.

This section requires the President's annual budget submission to Congress to include detailed information on improper payment amounts and rates for each executive agency. This includes a narrative explanation of trends (increases, decreases, or no change over 3 years), reasons for these trends, and incomplete corrective actions with steps to address them.

This section makes the Improper Payments Information Act of 2002 and the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act of 2010 applicable to state Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs and other state programs funded with qualified state expenditures. It also requires the HHS Secretary to prescribe regulations within two years for how states review and report these improper payments.

This section adds a new requirement to the Social Security Act, explicitly stating that federal TANF funds must be used to supplement, not supplant, state general revenue spending on TANF-eligible activities.

This section streamlines and expands TANF data reporting requirements for states. It requires states to report full-population data, including detailed information on the work eligibility status and participation hours (or reasons for non-participation) for all individuals in TANF families. It also mandates reporting of information necessary to compute employment and earnings outcomes.

This section requires the HHS Secretary, in consultation with an interagency work group and considering state perspectives, to designate data exchange standards for TANF programs. These standards must be non-proprietary, searchable, computer-readable (e.g., XML), incorporate interoperable standards (e.g., NIEM), be cost-effective, and improve program efficiency.

This section makes any entity controlled by an "agent of a covered foreign principal" ineligible to receive direct or indirect financial assistance from the United States government. "Covered foreign principal" includes governments and political parties of specific nations (e.g., China, Russia, Iran, Afghanistan, North Korea, and others listed).

This section establishes a US policy to oppose foreign assistance to the Taliban by foreign countries and NGOs, especially those receiving US aid. It requires the Secretary of State to report on such assistance, develop a strategy to discourage it (including supporting Afghan women and girls without supporting the Taliban), and submit regular reports on the strategy's implementation. It also mandates the immediate suspension of US foreign assistance to any country or NGO determined to have provided assistance to the Taliban.

This section requires the Secretary of State to submit a report within 90 days on US Government-funded direct cash assistance programs in Afghanistan since August 2021. The report must detail implementing partners, payment methods, currency exchanges, use of hawalas (money transfer networks), oversight mechanisms, and how the Department of State prevents Taliban access to cash assistance.

This section requires the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Treasury Secretary, to report every 180 days for 5 years on the status of the Afghan Fund. Reports must include information on Taliban influence over Da Afghanistan Bank, the Afghan Fund's board of trustees, conditions for fund release, decision-making processes, and controls to prevent Taliban misuse. Additionally, it rescinds all unobligated balances from numerous specified funds, programs, or accounts previously appropriated for reconstruction activities in Afghanistan, transferring these amounts to the general fund of the Treasury for deficit reduction.

This section expresses the Sense of Congress that the US should not normalize diplomatic relations with the Taliban unless, at a minimum, the Taliban coordinates with the US to expel terrorist groups, ceases hostage-taking and wrongful detention, repeals edicts prohibiting education/employment/free movement/expression for women and girls, and repeals policies curtailing rights of minority groups.

This section amends the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 to include "other transaction agreements" (OTAs) in the definition of federal awards that must be reported on USAspending.gov. It requires the Secretary of the Treasury to ensure OTA data is automatically transmitted and centrally viewable on the website within 3 years. It also mandates an annual report on unreported federal spending.

This section makes several amendments to the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006. It clarifies which agencies' Inspector Generals must report on compliance, requires the Secretary of the Treasury and OMB Director to establish requirements for complete and accurate data posting by federal agencies, and mandates the Secretary to publish a list of agencies required to post information on USAspending.gov.

This section requires the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with various financial regulators and private sector stakeholders, to submit a report to Congress. The report must describe how financial institutions protect consumers from AI fraud, list standard definitions for AI terms, identify potential risks from bad actors using AI (like deep fakes), list best practices for financial institutions, and provide legislative and regulatory recommendations.

This section extends the statute of limitations to 10 years for criminal prosecution or civil enforcement actions related to fraud or conspiracy to commit fraud concerning Shuttered Venue Operators (SVO) grants and Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) grants. This applies to violations of various federal fraud statutes.

This section generally extends the statute of limitations to 10 years for criminal offenses and civil actions (including False Claims Act and Tariff Act violations) related to "pandemic-era program violations." This applies to offenses involving programs or funding authorized by a broad list of COVID-19 relief laws. It excludes offenses where the original statute of limitations had already lapsed before this Act's enactment.

This section requires federal agencies to provide detailed payment information (purpose, appropriation account, activity type) for every payment submitted to a Treasury disbursement system. Certifying officials must annually verify the accuracy and completeness of this information, and the data must be made publicly available on USAspending.gov within 30 days of certification.

This section significantly expands data access for the purpose of identifying, preventing, and recovering improper payments. It grants the Treasury Secretary access to the National Directory of New Hires (NDNH) and allows redisclosure. It amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) to allow consumer reports to be used by Treasury for improper payment purposes. It also amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow the IRS Commissioner to provide specific tax return information (e.g., TIN, filing status, AGI, Schedule C income) to the Treasury Secretary for the "Do Not Pay" system, and amends the Social Security Act to allow the Social Security Administration to share personally identifiable information (name, DOB, SSN) with Treasury for the "Do Not Pay" system.

This section requires individuals applying or reapplying for certain public assistance programs to declare, under penalty of perjury, that they will not conduct remittance transfers (sending money abroad) while receiving benefits. Violators face a $100,000 fine. This applies to programs like SSI, TANF, Medicaid, SNAP, and housing assistance.

This section establishes a Veterans Scam and Fraud Evasion Officer within the VA's Veterans Experience Office. The officer is responsible for fraud and scam prevention, reporting, and incident response for veterans, serving as a central contact point. Responsibilities include communication, guidance, promotion of resources (VSAFE Fraud Hotline, VSAFE.gov), monitoring metrics, developing training, and coordinating with other federal agencies and VSOs. The position sunsets on September 30, 2030.

This section significantly expands whistleblower protections for "protected individuals" (contractors, subcontractors, grantees, subgrantees, their employees, and personal services contractors) of the Department of Defense (DoD) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). It protects them from reprisal for refusing to obey an order that would violate a law/rule/regulation related to a contract/grant, or for disclosing information they reasonably believe is evidence of gross mismanagement, waste, abuse of authority, violation of law/rule/regulation related to DoD/NASA contracts/grants, or a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety. It also prohibits executive branch officials from requesting reprisal and states that these rights cannot be waived by agreement.

This section mirrors the protections in Sec. 3702 but applies them to "protected individuals" (contractors, subcontractors, grantees, subgrantees, their employees, and personal services contractors) of the *entire* Federal Government (excluding DoD/NASA, which are covered by 3702). It protects them from reprisal for refusing to obey an order that would violate a law/rule/regulation related to a federal contract/grant, or for disclosing information they reasonably believe is evidence of gross mismanagement, waste, abuse of authority, violation of law/rule/regulation related to federal contracts/grants, or a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety. It also prohibits executive branch officials from requesting reprisal and states that these rights cannot be waived by agreement.