ZOMBIE Act
Latest action. Received in the Senate.
Zeroing Out Monetary Benefits Improperly Expended Act or the ZOMBIE Act
This bill focuses requirements governing the assessment, tracking, and reporting of improper payments made by federal agencies on improper payments that result in financial loss to the government.
The bill defines financial loss to the government as any payment (or part of a payment) in excess of the correct amount that results in a financial loss to the government, but excludes any payment (or part of a payment) that is made to the correct recipient for the correct amount but fails to meet administrative procedures (other than those required to verify the validity of the payment).
The bill requires agencies to assess programs and activities every three years for the risk of improper payments resulting in financial loss to the government. The bill also generally modifies other reporting requirements to focus on such improper payments, including by expanding reporting requirements to include information about actions taken by agencies to prevent such payments (e.g., use of the Do Not Pay system) and to implement certain best practices.
The bill also
requires an estimate of such improper payments in agencies’ annual budget justification,
requires the Department of the Treasury to develop risk assessment guidance, and
allows up to 75% of funds that are recovered through audits to be directed back to the original program or activity (currently, up to 25% of such funds may be directed back to the original program or activity).
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on April 23, 2026. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Received in the Senate.
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Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
The latest action on file does not map to a stage Civibrief recognizes, so the page will not name one. The record's own words are the reliable fact here.
The record's latest action, on June 11, 2026: Received in the Senate.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 118th Congress (2023-24), 274 of the 16,565 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 1.7 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one has no outstanding steps listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Gary Palmer (R-AL) introduced it on April 23, 2026. No cosponsors are recorded.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on April 23, 2026, 140 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 91 days ago, on June 11, 2026.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 119th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2027 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseReceived in the Senate.
- SenateNot stated in the latest action
- PresidentNot stated in the latest action