Enhancing Payment Accuracy Through a "Do Not Pay List"

Memorandum of June 18, 2010

Enhancing Payment Accuracy Through a ``Do Not Pay
List''

Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and
Agencies

My Administration is committed to eliminating waste,
fraud, and abuse in Federal programs, including
reducing and recapturing erroneous payments--a
commitment I reinforced in Executive Order 13520 of
November 20, 2009, and in a memorandum to the heads of
executive departments and agencies (agencies) of March
10, 2010. While identifying and recapturing improper
payments is important, prevention of payment errors
before they occur should be the first priority in
protecting taxpayer resources from waste, fraud, and
abuse. In those cases where data available to agencies
clearly shows that a potential recipient of a Federal
payment is ineligible for it, subsequent payment to
that recipient is unacceptable. We must ensure that
such payments are not made.

Agencies maintain many databases containing information
on a recipient's eligibility to receive Federal
benefits payments or Federal awards, such as grants and
contracts. By checking these databases before making
payments or awards, agencies can identify ineligible
recipients and prevent certain improper payments from
being made in the first place.

Therefore, I hereby direct agencies to review current
pre-payment and pre-award procedures and ensure that a
thorough review of available databases with relevant
information on eligibility occurs before the release of
any Federal funds, to the extent permitted by law. At a
minimum, agencies shall, before payment and award,
check the following existing databases (where
applicable and permitted by law) to verify eligibility:
the Social Security Administration's Death Master File,
the General Services Administration's Excluded Parties
List System, the Department of the Treasury's Debt
Check Database, the Department of Housing and Urban
Development's Credit Alert System or Credit Alert
Interactive Voice Response System, and the Department
of Health and Human Services' Office of Inspector
General's List of Excluded Individuals/Entities. This
network of databases, and additional databases so
designated by the Director of the Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) in consultation with agencies, shall
be collectively known as the ``Do Not Pay List.'' This
memorandum requires agencies to review these databases
with the recognition that there may be circumstances
when the law nevertheless requires a payment or award
to be made to a recipient listed in them. My
Administration began coordination of the databases
discussed in this memorandum in April 2010 by launching
the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity
Information System (FAPIIS), which integrates various
sources of information on the eligibility of Government
contractors for award. No later than 120 days of the
date of this memorandum, the Director of the OMB shall
provide to the President a plan for completing
integration for the remaining databases, to the extent
permitted by law, so that agencies can access them
through a single entry point.

Each agency shall, within 90 days of the date of this
memorandum, submit to the OMB a plan that includes
information on its current pre-payment and pre-award
procedures and a list of databases that the agency
checks pursuant to those procedures. Within 180 days of
the date of this memorandum, the Director of the OMB
shall issue guidance, to be developed in consultation
with affected agencies and taking into account current
agency pre-payment and pre-award practices, on actions
agencies must take to carry

out this memorandum's requirements. This guidance shall
clarify that the head of each agency is responsible for
ensuring an efficient and accurate process for
determining whether the information provided on the
``Do Not Pay List'' is sufficient to stop a payment,
consistent with applicable laws and regulations, and,
if so, whether a payment should be stopped under the
circumstances. In addition, this guidance shall
identify best practices and databases that agencies
should utilize to conduct pre-payment checks to ensure
that only eligible recipients receive Government
benefits or payments.

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.

The Director of the OMB is hereby authorized and
directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal
Register.

THE WHITE HOUSE,

Washington, June 18, 2010