Spotlight on Treasury’s Leadership in the Do Not Pay Program
Across the federal government, payment integrity has become a defining priority. As agencies manage trillions of dollars in payments each year, even small gaps in data, process, or adoption can translate into significant risk. Few organizations are better positioned to address this challenge than the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
At the center of this effort is the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, which operates as the federal government’s financial backbone. From managing payments and collections to maintaining government wide accounting, Fiscal Service plays a critical role in protecting public funds and strengthening trust in federal financial operations.
That responsibility is especially visible in the evolution of the Do Not Pay (DNP) Program, a government wide capability designed to help agencies prevent fraud, waste, and abuse before payments are made.
Leadership Focused on Outcomes
In a recent interview with CDO Magazine, Justin Marsico, Assistant Commissioner for Fraud Prevention and Financial Integrity at Treasury’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service, offered a clear and practical view into how Treasury is working to modernize DNP and accelerate adoption across agencies.
Marsico’s role sits at the intersection of policy, data, technology, and operations. Leading Treasury’s fraud prevention portfolio, he oversees the services that agencies rely on to screen payments and awards against authoritative data sources. His perspective reflects both the scale of the challenge and the urgency to move faster.
One of the most striking insights from the discussion is how underutilized DNP has historically been. Treasury’s analysis found that only a small fraction of federal programs were using all of the data sources they were legally permitted to access. Closing that gap is now a top priority.
Reducing Barriers to Adoption
A major theme of the conversation was the need to remove long standing administrative friction that has slowed adoption. While Treasury had already invested in strong data sources and services, agencies often faced complex legal and procedural hurdles just to use them.
Recent federal guidance has helped change that dynamic by reinforcing payment integrity as an administration level priority and enabling Treasury to streamline access to DNP data sources. By reducing duplicative reviews and simplifying onboarding steps, Treasury is helping agencies move from fragmented usage toward a more consistent, government wide approach.
Importantly, this work is being done with privacy and legal compliance front and center. Marsico highlighted how Treasury is relying on existing statutory authorities while modernizing processes in a way that protects sensitive information and maintains public trust.
From Policy to Practice
What stands out in Treasury’s approach is the focus on execution. Rather than treating payment integrity as a compliance exercise, Fiscal Service is working directly with agencies to help them understand eligibility, update records, and operationalize DNP within real programs.
This combination of clear policy direction, practical guidance, and hands on engagement is what enables progress at scale. Moving from partial adoption to full utilization is not just a technical challenge. It requires alignment across legal, data, technology, and program teams.
Why This Matters
Improving payment integrity is about more than preventing losses. It strengthens confidence in government programs, protects taxpayers, and ensures that benefits and payments reach the right recipients at the right time.
Treasury’s leadership on DNP demonstrates how federal agencies can modernize critical services by focusing on shared data foundations, reducing unnecessary barriers, and designing solutions that work in real operational environments.
A Shared Mission
At Makpar, we closely follow and support efforts like these because they reflect the kind of modernization that delivers real mission impact. Treasury’s work on payment integrity underscores the importance of treating foundational capabilities as enterprise infrastructure and designing them to scale across agencies and programs.
We commend Justin Marsico and the Bureau of the Fiscal Service for advancing this work and for their commitment to strengthening financial integrity across the federal government.
As agencies continue to modernize, collaboration, clarity, and operational focus will remain essential to turning policy intent into measurable results.
Working to improve data driven oversight and program integrity? Contact Makpar to explore how we support secure, scalable modernization across government.
