PROOF Act

Summary#

This bill lets the Attorney General ask State program officials to give records needed to investigate or prosecute alleged fraud in many federally funded programs. The list of programs includes Medicaid (title XIX), SNAP, TANF, State unemployment, several COVID-19 relief funds, emergency rental assistance, K–12 emergency relief grants, the BEAD broadband program, Community Development Block Grants, FEMA public assistance and hazard mitigation grants, the State Small Business Credit Initiative, and any other State program the Attorney General identifies as vulnerable to fraud.

The types of information that can be requested include identity verification records, benefit disbursement logs, provider billing statements, demographic information tied to an active fraud investigation, and any other information the Attorney General finds appropriate. The Attorney General must handle information under the Privacy Act and applicable HIPAA regulations, set security protocols (including encryption, access limits, and destruction of data after the case ends), and limit use of the information to law enforcement purposes related to fraud. The Attorney General must report annually to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees on the number of requests, the programs involved, and the number of investigations and convictions that used the shared information. The law would take effect 60 days after enactment and includes a severability clause. "State" is defined to include the 50 States, DC, Puerto Rico, and other territories.

What it means for you#

• If you run or work for a State program listed in the bill, the head of your State agency must provide requested records to the Attorney General when the AG makes a written request for a fraud investigation or prosecution.
• If you are a person who used or applied for benefits from a listed program, some of your records (like identity checks, benefit payment logs, or demographic data) could be shared with federal law enforcement if they are directly related to an active fraud investigation.
• The Attorney General must follow specified privacy and security steps: follow the Privacy Act, apply HIPAA regulations when relevant, encrypt data, restrict access to authorized people, and destroy the information after the investigation or legal matter ends.
• The shared information may only be used for fraud-related law enforcement purposes and not for unrelated administrative or commercial uses.

Expenses#

No publicly available information.

Proponents' View#

The text of the bill states its purpose is to enhance information-sharing between Federal law enforcement and State agencies to detect, investigate, and prosecute fraud in certain Federal programs while protecting individual privacy. Supporters would point to the required privacy and security measures and the annual reports to Congressional judiciary committees.

Opponents' View#

No publicly available information.