Following the fraud scandal in Minnesota, President Donald Trump created a national task force to prevent fraud in government programs. The administration’s latest move is to propose a sweeping overhaul of federal grant-making rules, including by requiring state governments to screen beneficiaries to verify eligibility before payments are made.
This is a welcome change. But governors don’t need to wait for the rulemaking to be finalized to use data to prevent fraud and misspending. Blue and red states—and even New York City—have proven that partnering with the federal government to screen benefits can lead to substantial savings.
Since 2019, all states have been authorized to use the Treasury Department’s Do Not Pay (DNP) tool. Originally created by the Obama administration, it allows government agencies to use data-screening tools to verify an individual’s information before payments are made. DNP serves as a first line of defense against fraud and misspending—at no cost to the states. The Treasury Department estimates that the tool helped agencies “prevent, detect, and recover” nearly $12 billion last year.
