Improving Federal Financial Management Act
Latest action. Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
Improving Federal Financial Management Act
This bill requires the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to take certain actions to improve financial management systems across the federal government and expands the responsibilities of federal agency Chief Financial Officers (CFOs).
The bill requires OMB to submit a four-year governmentwide financial management plan to Congress within six months of enactment and thereafter with the budget submitted in the first full fiscal year following the start of a presidential term. Such plans must address certain topics, including strategies for (1) improving financial management systems; (2) strengthening the financial management workforce; and (3) reporting performance and cost information. OMB must annually submit related status reports to Congress and the Government Accountability Office.
Each agency CFO is assigned new responsibilities, including
preparing the agency plan to implement OMB's governmentwide financial management plan;
overseeing and providing leadership in the areas of budget formulation and execution, planning and performance, risk management, internal controls, financial systems, accounting, and other areas designated by OMB;
coordinating with designated agency personnel on the strategic planning, performance measurement and reporting, and risk management functions of the agency;
managing the formulation and financial execution of the agency budget;
linking performance and cost information; and
preparing annual reports on progress in implementing the governmentwide financial management plan and transmitting such reports to the agency head, OMB, and Congress.
The bill establishes new requirements for audits of agency accounts, such as having auditors evaluate the design of the agency's internal controls over financial reporting.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on January 13, 2025. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on January 13, 2025: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
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 is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, 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?
James Lankford (R-OK) introduced it on January 13, 2025, and 1 member has since signed on as a cosponsor.
They are 1 Democrat.
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 January 13, 2025, 605 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 605 days ago, on January 13, 2025.
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
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers