HR 8467: ZOMBIE Act

HR 8467 in plain English: The ZOMBIE Act tightens federal rules on improper payments that cause actual financial loss to the government, requiring agencies to assess payment programs every three years for risk, improve reporting on prevention efforts, and include improper payment estimates in annual budget requests. It also raises the share of audit-recovered funds that can be returned to the original program from 25% to 75%.

Stated purpose

The ZOMBIE Act aims to reform federal improper payment oversight by focusing agencies on improper payments that cause actual financial loss to the government, improving tracking, reporting, and fraud prevention efforts.

Key points

• Requires federal agencies to assess programs every three years for risk of improper payments causing financial loss
• Expands reporting to include agency prevention actions, such as use of the Do Not Pay system
• Requires improper payment estimates to be included in agencies' annual budget justifications
• Raises the share of audit-recovered funds returnable to original programs from 25% to 75%
• Directs the Department of the Treasury to develop risk assessment guidance for agencies

Arguments supporters make

• Focusing only on payments that cause real financial loss cuts wasteful red tape, so agencies spend less time chasing paperwork errors and more time stopping actual fraud.
• Requiring risk assessments before money goes out the door — especially for new programs — helps catch vulnerabilities early and protects taxpayer dollars.
• Allowing more recovered audit funds to return to the original program gives agencies a stronger incentive to find and fix improper payments.

Arguments opponents make

• Narrowing the definition of improper payments could let agencies underreport problems by reclassifying procedural failures as harmless, making the government's payment integrity picture look better than it really is.
• Administrative procedures exist for good reasons — excluding violations of those rules from scrutiny may leave gaps that bad actors can exploit even if a payment reaches the right recipient.
• Redirecting up to 75% of recovered funds back to the same programs that made the errors could reward agencies for past mistakes rather than holding them accountable.

Tradeoffs

The bill trades broader oversight of all types of payment errors for a tighter focus on financially harmful ones, which may improve efficiency but could reduce visibility into systemic procedural weaknesses; it also shifts more recovered audit money back to programs, balancing program funding against the principle of returning those funds to the general treasury.

Current status in Congress: Passed House.

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