Appendix A5. Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Improvement Act (IPERIA) of 2012 (P.L. 112-248)

PUBLIC LAW 112–248—JAN. 10, 2013

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IMPROPER PAYMENTS ELIMINATION AND
RECOVERY IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2012

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126 STAT. 2390

PUBLIC LAW 112–248—JAN. 10, 2013

Public Law 112–248
112th Congress
An Act
Jan. 10, 2013
[H.R. 4053]
Improper
Payments
Elimination
and Recovery
Improvement
Act of 2012.
31 USC 3321
note.

To intensify efforts to identify, prevent, and recover payment error, waste, fraud,
and abuse within Federal spending.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Improper Payments Elimination
and Recovery Improvement Act of 2012’’.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

In this Act—
(1) the term ‘‘agency’’ means an executive agency as that
term is defined under section 102 of title 31, United States
Code;
(2) the term ‘‘improper payment’’ has the meaning given
that term in section 2(g) of the Improper Payments Information
Act of 2002 (31 U.S.C. 3321 note), as redesignated by section
3(a)(1) of this Act; and
(3) the term ‘‘State’’ means each State of the United States,
the District of Columbia, each territory or possession of the
United States, and each federally recognized Indian tribe.
SEC. 3. IMPROVING THE DETERMINATION OF IMPROPER PAYMENTS
BY FEDERAL AGENCIES.

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Deadline.

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(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 2 of the Improper Payments Information Act of 2002 (31 U.S.C. 3321 note) is amended—
(1) by redesignating subsections (b) through (g) as subsections (c) through (h), respectively;
(2) by inserting after subsection (a) the following:
‘‘(b) IMPROVING THE DETERMINATION OF IMPROPER PAYMENTS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall on an annual basis—
‘‘(A) identify a list of high-priority Federal programs
for greater levels of oversight and review—
‘‘(i) in which the highest dollar value or highest
rate of improper payments occur; or
‘‘(ii) for which there is a higher risk of improper
payments; and
‘‘(B) in coordination with the agency responsible for
administering the high-priority program, establish annual
targets and semi-annual or quarterly actions for reducing
improper payments associated with each high-priority program.
‘‘(2) REPORT ON HIGH-PRIORITY IMPROPER PAYMENTS.—

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PUBLIC LAW 112–248—JAN. 10, 2013

126 STAT. 2391

‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to Federal privacy policies
and to the extent permitted by law, each agency with
a program identified under paragraph (1)(A) on an annual
basis shall submit to the Inspector General of that agency,
and make available to the public (including availability
through the Internet), a report on that program.
‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—Each report under this paragraph—
‘‘(i) shall describe—
‘‘(I) any action the agency—
‘‘(aa) has taken or plans to take to recover
improper payments; and
‘‘(bb) intends to take to prevent future
improper payments; and
‘‘(ii) shall not include any referrals the agency
made or anticipates making to the Department of Justice, or any information provided in connection with
such referrals.
‘‘(C) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY ON CENTRAL WEBSITE.—The
Office of Management and Budget shall make each report
submitted under this paragraph available on a central
website.
‘‘(D) AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION TO INSPECTOR GENERAL.—Subparagraph (B)(ii) shall not prohibit any referral
or information being made available to an Inspector General as otherwise provided by law.
‘‘(E) ASSESSMENT AND RECOMMENDATIONS.—The
Inspector General of each agency that submits a report
under this paragraph shall, for each program of the agency
that is identified under paragraph (1)(A)—
‘‘(i) review—
‘‘(I) the assessment of the level of risk associated with the program, and the quality of the
improper payment estimates and methodology of
the agency relating to the program; and
‘‘(II) the oversight or financial controls to identify and prevent improper payments under the
program; and
‘‘(ii) submit to Congress recommendations, which
may be included in another report submitted by the
Inspector General to Congress, for modifying any plans
of the agency relating to the program, including
improvements for improper payments determination
and estimation methodology.’’;
(3) in subsection (d) (as redesignated by paragraph (1)
of this subsection), by striking ‘‘subsection (b)’’ each place that
term appears and inserting ‘‘subsection (c)’’;
(4) in subsection (e) (as redesignated by paragraph (1)
of this subsection), by striking ‘‘subsection (b)’’ and inserting
‘‘subsection (c)’’; and
(5) in subsection (g)(3) (as redesignated by paragraph (1)
of this subsection), by inserting ‘‘or a Federal employee’’ after
‘‘non-Federal person or entity’’.
(b) IMPROVED ESTIMATES.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the date
of enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall provide guidance to agencies for
improving the estimates of improper payments under the

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Public
information.
Web posting.

Deadline.
Guidance.

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126 STAT. 2392

PUBLIC LAW 112–248—JAN. 10, 2013

Improper Payments Information Act of 2002 (31 U.S.C. 3321
note).
(2) GUIDANCE.—Guidance under this subsection shall—
(A) strengthen the estimation process of agencies by
setting standards for agencies to follow in determining
the underlying validity of sampled payments to ensure
amounts being billed, paid, or obligated for payment are
proper;
(B) instruct agencies to give the persons or entities
performing improper payments estimates access to all necessary payment data, including access to relevant documentation;
(C) explicitly bar agencies from relying on selfreporting by the recipients of agency payments as the sole
source basis for improper payments estimates;
(D) require agencies to include all identified improper
payments in the reported estimate, regardless of whether
the improper payment in question has been or is being
recovered;
(E) include payments to employees, including salary,
locality pay, travel pay, purchase card use, and other
employee payments, as subject to risk assessment and,
where appropriate, improper payment estimation; and
(F) require agencies to tailor their corrective actions
for the high-priority programs identified under section
2(b)(1)(A) of the Improper Payments Information Act of
2002 (31 U.S.C. 3321 note) to better reflect the unique
processes, procedures, and risks involved in each specific
program.
(c) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—The Improper
Payments Elimination and Recovery Act of 2010 (Public Law 111–
204; 31 U.S.C. 3321 note) is amended—
(1) in section 2(h)(1), by striking ‘‘section 2(f)’’ and all
that follows and inserting ‘‘section 2(g) of the Improper Payments Information Act of 2002 (31 U.S.C. 3321 note).’’; and
(2) in section 3(a)—
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘section 2(f)’’ and
all that follows and inserting ‘‘section 2(g) of the Improper
Payments Information Act of 2002 (31 U.S.C. 3321 note).’’;
and
(B) in paragraph (3)—
(i) by striking ‘‘section 2(b)’’ each place it appears
and inserting ‘‘section 2(c)’’; and
(ii) by striking ‘‘section 2(c)’’ each place it appears
and inserting ‘‘section 2(d)’’.
SEC. 4. IMPROPER PAYMENTS INFORMATION.

Section 2(a)(3)(A)(ii) of the Improper Payments Information
Act of 2002 (31 U.S.C. 3321 note) is amended by striking ‘‘with
respect to fiscal years following September 30th of a fiscal year
beginning before fiscal year 2013 as determined by the Office of
Management and Budget’’ and inserting ‘‘with respect to fiscal
year 2014 and each fiscal year thereafter’’.
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SEC. 5. DO NOT PAY INITIATIVE.

(a) PREPAYMENT AND PREAWARD PROCEDURES.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Each agency shall review prepayment
and preaward procedures and ensure that a thorough review

Review.

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PUBLIC LAW 112–248—JAN. 10, 2013

126 STAT. 2393

of available databases with relevant information on eligibility
occurs to determine program or award eligibility and prevent
improper payments before the release of any Federal funds.
(2) DATABASES.—At a minimum and before issuing any
payment and award, each agency shall review as appropriate
the following databases to verify eligibility of the payment
and award:
(A) The Death Master File of the Social Security
Administration.
(B) The General Services Administration’s Excluded
Parties List System.
(C) The Debt Check Database of the Department of
the Treasury.
(D) The Credit Alert System or Credit Alert Interactive
Voice Response System of the Department of Housing and
Urban Development.
(E) The List of Excluded Individuals/Entities of the
Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health
and Human Services.
(b) DO NOT PAY INITIATIVE.—
(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the Do Not Pay
Initiative which shall include—
(A) use of the databases described under subsection
(a)(2); and
(B) use of other databases designated by the Director
of the Office of Management and Budget in consultation
with agencies and in accordance with paragraph (2).
(2) OTHER DATABASES.—In making designations of other
databases under paragraph (1)(B), the Director of the Office
of Management and Budget shall—
(A) consider any database that substantially assists
in preventing improper payments; and
(B) provide public notice and an opportunity for comment before designating a database under paragraph (1)(B).
(3) ACCESS AND REVIEW BY AGENCIES.—For purposes of
identifying and preventing improper payments, each agency
shall have access to, and use of, the Do Not Pay Initiative
to verify payment or award eligibility in accordance with subsection (a) when the Director of the Office of Management
and Budget determines the Do Not Pay Initiative is appropriately established for the agency.
(4) PAYMENT OTHERWISE REQUIRED.—When using the Do
Not Pay Initiative, an agency shall recognize that there may
be circumstances under which the law requires a payment
or award to be made to a recipient, regardless of whether
that recipient is identified as potentially ineligible under the
Do Not Pay Initiative.
(5) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall submit to Congress an annual report,
which may be included as part of another report submitted
to Congress by the Director, regarding the operation of the
Do Not Pay Initiative, which shall—
(A) include an evaluation of whether the Do Not Pay
Initiative has reduced improper payments or improper
awards; and
(B) provide the frequency of corrections or identification
of incorrect information.

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Public
information.

Evaluation.

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126 STAT. 2394
Deadline.

Deadlines.

Review.

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PUBLIC LAW 112–248—JAN. 10, 2013

(c) DATABASE INTEGRATION PLAN.—Not later than 60 days after
the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office of
Management and Budget shall provide to the Congress a plan
for—
(1) inclusion of other databases on the Do Not Pay Initiative;
(2) to the extent permitted by law, agency access to the
Do Not Pay Initiative; and
(3) the data use agreements described under subsection
(e)(2)(D).
(d) INITIAL WORKING SYSTEM.—
(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 90 days after the date
of enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall establish a working system for prepayment and preaward review that includes the Do Not Pay Initiative as described under this section.
(2) WORKING SYSTEM.—The working system established
under paragraph (1)—
(A) may be located within an appropriate agency;
(B) shall include not less than 3 agencies as users
of the system; and
(C) shall include investigation activities for fraud and
systemic improper payments detection through analytic
technologies and other techniques, which may include
commercial database use or access.
(3) APPLICATION TO ALL AGENCIES.—Not later than June
1, 2013, each agency shall review all payments and awards
for all programs of that agency through the system established
under this subsection.
(e) FACILITATING DATA ACCESS BY FEDERAL AGENCIES AND
OFFICES OF INSPECTORS GENERAL FOR PURPOSES OF PROGRAM
INTEGRITY.—
(1) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term ‘‘Inspector
General’’ means any Inspector General described in subparagraph (A), (B), or (I) of section 11(b)(1) of the Inspector General
Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) and any successor Inspector General.
(2) COMPUTER MATCHING BY FEDERAL AGENCIES FOR PURPOSES OF INVESTIGATION AND PREVENTION OF IMPROPER PAYMENTS AND FRAUD.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in this paragraph,
in accordance with section 552a of title 5, United States
Code (commonly known as the Privacy Act of 1974), each
Inspector General and the head of each agency may enter
into computer matching agreements with other inspectors
general and agency heads that allow ongoing data matching
(which shall include automated data matching) in order
to assist in the detection and prevention of improper payments.
(B) REVIEW.—Not later than 60 days after a proposal
for an agreement under subparagraph (A) has been presented to a Data Integrity Board established under section
552a(u) of title 5, United States Code, for consideration,
the Data Integrity Board shall respond to the proposal.
(C) TERMINATION DATE.—An agreement under subparagraph (A)—

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(i) shall have a termination date of less than 3
years; and
(ii) during the 3-month period ending on the date
on which the agreement is scheduled to terminate,
may be renewed by the agencies entering the agreement for not more than 3 years.
(D) MULTIPLE AGENCIES.—For purposes of this paragraph, section 552a(o)(1) of title 5, United States Code,
shall be applied by substituting ‘‘between the source agency
and the recipient agency or non-Federal agency or an agreement governing multiple agencies’’ for ‘‘between the source
agency and the recipient agency or non-Federal agency’’
in the matter preceding subparagraph (A).
(E) COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS.—A justification under section 552a(o)(1)(B) of title 5, United States Code, relating
to an agreement under subparagraph (A) is not required
to contain a specific estimate of any savings under the
computer matching agreement.
(3) GUIDANCE BY THE OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND
BUDGET.—Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment
of this Act, and in consultation with the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, the Secretary of Health
and Human Services, the Commissioner of Social Security,
and the head of any other relevant agency, the Director of
the Office of Management and Budget shall—
(A) issue guidance for agencies regarding implementing
this subsection, which shall include standards for—
(i) reimbursement of costs, when necessary,
between agencies;
(ii) retention and timely destruction of records in
accordance with section 552a(o)(1)(F) of title 5, United
States Code; and
(iii) prohibiting duplication and redisclosure of
records in accordance with section 552a(o)(1)(H) of title
5, United States Code;
(B) review the procedures of the Data Integrity Boards
established under section 552a(u) of title 5, United States
Code, and develop new guidance for the Data Integrity
Boards to—
(i) improve the effectiveness and responsiveness
of the Data Integrity Boards;
(ii) ensure privacy protections in accordance with
section 552a of title 5, United States Code (commonly
known as the Privacy Act of 1974); and
(iii) establish standard matching agreements for
use when appropriate; and
(C) establish and clarify rules regarding what constitutes making an agreement entered under paragraph
(2)(A) available upon request to the public for purposes
of section 552a(o)(2)(A)(ii) of title 5, United States Code,
which shall include requiring publication of the agreement
on a public website.
(4) CORRECTIONS.—The Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall establish procedures providing for the
correction of data in order to ensure—
(A) compliance with section 552a(p) of title 5, United
States Code; and

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Time period.

Applicability.

Deadline.

Review.

Regulations.
Public
information.
Web posting.

Procedures.

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Deadline.
Recommendations.

PUBLIC LAW 112–248—JAN. 10, 2013

(B) that corrections are made in any Do Not Pay Initiative database and in any relevant source databases designated by the Director of the Office of Management and
Budget under subsection (b)(1).
(5) COMPLIANCE.—The head of each agency, in consultation
with the Inspector General of the agency, shall ensure that
any information provided to an individual or entity under this
subsection is provided in accordance with protocols established
under this subsection.
(6) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this subsection
shall be construed to affect the rights of an individual under
section 552a(p) of title 5, United States Code.
(f) DEVELOPMENT AND ACCESS TO A DATABASE OF INCARCERATED
INDIVIDUALS.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment
of this Act, the Attorney General shall submit to Congress recommendations for increasing the use of, access to, and the technical
feasibility of using data on the Federal, State, and local conviction
and incarceration status of individuals for purposes of identifying
and preventing improper payments by Federal agencies and programs and fraud.
(g) PLAN TO CURB FEDERAL IMPROPER PAYMENTS TO DECEASED
INDIVIDUALS BY IMPROVING THE QUALITY AND USE BY FEDERAL
AGENCIES OF THE SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION DEATH MASTER
FILE.—
(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—In conjunction with the Commissioner of Social Security and in consultation with relevant
stakeholders that have an interest in or responsibility for providing the data, and the States, the Director of the Office
of Management and Budget shall establish a plan for improving
the quality, accuracy, and timeliness of death data maintained
by the Social Security Administration, including death information reported to the Commissioner under section 205(r) of the
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 405(r)).
(2) ADDITIONAL ACTIONS UNDER PLAN.—The plan established under this subsection shall include recommended actions
by agencies to—
(A) increase the quality and frequency of access to
the Death Master File and other death data;
(B) achieve a goal of at least daily access as appropriate;
(C) provide for all States and other data providers
to use improved and electronic means for providing data;
(D) identify improved methods by agencies for determining ineligible payments due to the death of a recipient
through proactive verification means; and
(E) address improper payments made by agencies to
deceased individuals as part of Federal retirement programs.
(3) REPORT.—Not later than 120 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office of Management
and Budget shall submit a report to Congress on the plan
established under this subsection, including recommended legislation.
SEC. 6. IMPROVING RECOVERY OF IMPROPER PAYMENTS.

(a) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘recovery audit’’
means a recovery audit described under section 2(h) of the Improper

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Payments Elimination and Recovery Act of 2010 (31 U.S.C. 3301
note).
(b) REVIEW.—The Director of the Office of Management and
Budget shall determine—
(1) current and historical rates and amounts of recovery
of improper payments (or, in cases in which improper payments
are identified solely on the basis of a sample, recovery rates
and amounts estimated on the basis of the applicable sample),
including a list of agency recovery audit contract programs
and specific information of amounts and payments recovered
by recovery audit contractors; and
(2) targets for recovering improper payments, including
specific information on amounts and payments recovered by
recovery audit contractors.

Determination.

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Approved January 10, 2013.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—H.R. 4053 (S. 1409):
HOUSE REPORTS: No. 112–698 (Comm. on Oversight and Government Reform).
SENATE REPORTS: No. 112–181 (Comm. on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs) accompanying S. 1409.
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 158 (2012):
Dec. 13, considered and passed House.
Dec. 20, considered and passed Senate.

Æ

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