The "Preventing Rip-offs and Obtaining Oversight of Funds Act" requires states to share information with the Attorney General for investigating fraud related to various programs, such as Medicaid, food stamps, and COVID relief. The Attorney General must handle the information according to privacy laws and set security protocols. Information obtained can only be used for fraud-related law enforcement purposes and must be reported annually to Congress. The Act will take effect 60 days after enactment and applies to all states, territories, and possessions of the United States.
Preventing Rip-offs and Obtaining Oversight of Funds Act or the PROOF Act
This bill requires states to provide such information as the Department of Justice (DOJ) may require for the purpose of investigating or prosecuting alleged fraud committed with regard to certain federally funded programs.
Programs covered by this requirement include:
- Medicaid,
- Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP),
- Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF),
- certain federal payments and grants to state governments related to the coronavirus response, and
- any other program to which funds are made available to states and identified by DOJ as vulnerable to fraud.
A federal agency may only use such information for law enforcement purposes related to fraud and may not disclose it for any unrelated administrative or commercial purpose.
DOJ must annually report to Congress on the number of requests for information issued to state agencies under this bill, the programs with respect to which such requests were made, and the number of fraud investigations initiated and convictions secured using the information obtained.