Over the past few years, we have covered more stories of fraudsters ripping off the pandemic relief programs than I would care to count. The Paycheck Protection Program was probably the hardest hit by thieves, but other programs were robbed with abandon as well. The total losses have been confirmed to be in the tens of billions, not “just millions.” Many people have been caught, but it’s obvious that there were many others who got away and the full extent of the losses may never be known precisely. Now we have a new traunch of money getting ready to head out the door as part of the recently passed infrastructure bill. And any time that much taxpayer money shows up on the table, scammers will seek to find a way to grab a piece of it. Can anything be done about this? At Government Executive this week, Elise Bean thinks she has the answer and it sounds like a pretty good strategy to me. She argues that a solid oversight program with muscle behind it needs to be in place now, not after the money has already been pilfered. And the White House could make that happen without the need for any new legislation authorizing it.

The best way to erect the needed safeguards and ensure accountability in the new infrastructure and emission reduction programs is to create an oversight entity right now with sufficient authority and resources to tackle the job. The Inflation Reduction Act provides $25 million to the Office of Management and Budget to “oversee implementation” of the law and another $25 million to the Government Accountability Office to track “whether the economic, social and environmental impacts” of inflation reduction funds are equitable. But neither the Inflation Reduction Act nor the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law makes broader use of the oversight community to minimize fraud and oversee effective implementation of infrastructure and environmental goals.

Fortunately, the Biden administration can take steps on its own, benefiting from past oversight structures designed to curb waste, fraud and abuse. One example is the 2009 Recovery Board, a group of 11 agency inspectors general that effectively oversaw the federal response to the Great Recession and helped minimize misconduct. Another example is the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, a collection of 21 IGs that currently tracks over $5 trillion in funding to combat problems caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

As Bean points out, an entirely new government entity (which would have to be created by Congress) should not be required. There are existing groups comprised of people from various Inspectors General offices that could handle this task if their funding and staffing were increased. This could be done by reallocating money and transferring people from other departments rather than waiting for new budgetary measures to be enacted. (The IRS sounds like a prime candidate.)

A few amendments to the infrastructure bill should be enacted as well, although that would require some congressional action to happen very quickly. None of the current bills that were passed include requirements for the individual states to submit regular reports on how the infrastructure money is being spent and who is receiving it. But even with the fractured, partisan state of Congress at the moment, we shouldn’t have trouble finding enough votes in favor of stopping fraud and abuse, right?

Software programs already exist that are capable of scanning vast numbers of proposed transactions and flagging items that appear questionable. Investigators could then look into them more carefully and hopefully identify most of the people who appear to be trying to take Uncle Sam for a ride. Those people should be rapidly prosecuted with their trials receiving wide coverage in the media as a message to others.

Further, the application process for such grants should include more than the usual disclaimers. Applicants should be informed in the clearest fashion possible that their applications are being monitored closely and that those seeking to commit fraud will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. And as Bean correctly asserts, the time to do that is right now, not after those hundreds of billions of dollars have already gone out the door. Can the Biden administration be convinced to take these steps immediately and to urge congress to amend the bills as noted above? I’m not getting my hopes up yet, but this moment offers the White House a rare opportunity to get something right and earn the respect of the public.