in effect
Executive Order 14395, signed March 16, 2026, creates a new interagency body called the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, housed within the Executive Office of the President. It directs this task force to coordinate federal efforts to detect and prevent fraud, waste, and abuse in federally funded benefit programs such as food assistance, Medicaid, housing aid, and cash assistance.
The Vice President chairs the task force, with the FTC Chair serving as vice chair; eleven cabinet departments and agencies are required to participate and share program data with the group. Within 30 days of the order, each member agency must identify its highest-fraud-risk transactions and processes and submit findings to the task force leadership. Within 60 days, the task force must establish minimum anti-fraud requirements across those transactions, and must examine whether federal funds can be withheld from states or localities that do not meet those standards. Within 90 days, each member agency must submit a measurable implementation plan. The Attorney General is separately directed to encourage and expedite private whistleblower lawsuits (False Claims Act suits) alleging fraud in federal benefit programs.
State and local governments that administer federally funded benefit programs face new federal oversight requirements and potential loss of funding if they do not adopt the task force’s anti-fraud standards. Benefit program providers, contractors, and nonprofit organizations that process or receive federal benefit payments are subject to increased identity screening, eligibility verification, audits, and possible suspension or debarment. Individuals enrolled in or applying for federal benefit programs may encounter additional identity and eligibility checks as agencies implement the new controls.