Trump order pushes federal government toward electronic payment methods; House Oversight passes executive reorganization bill

The federal government will shift from paper-based payments to electronic methods, part of what the White House said in a Tuesday executive order is an attempt to cut costs and reduce fraud. President Donald Trump’s EO on “modernizing payments to and from America’s bank account” requires the Treasury Department to phase out paper check disbursements and receipts by Sept. 30. That includes intragovernmental payments, benefits payments, vendor payments and tax refunds. Federal agencies will be expected to transition to electronic funds transfer (EFT) methods, including direct deposit, prepaid card accounts and other digital options. “The continued use of paper-based payments by the Federal Government, including checks and money orders, flowing into and out of the United States General Fund, which might be thought of as America’s bank account, imposes unnecessary costs; delays; and risks of fraud, lost payments, theft, and inefficiencies,” the order states.

A Republican-backed bill to reorganize the federal government and grant the executive branch more power passed out of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Tuesday, while a Democratic effort to protect sensitive data was blocked. The Reorganizing Government Act of 2025 (H.R. 1295) from Chairman James Comer, R-Ky. seeks to give the president reorganizational authorities that would include the ability to amend rules, regulations and requirements to decrease cost and eliminate operations that do not serve the public. Rep. Shontel Brown, D-Ohio, offered an amendment that would have required the president’s reorganization plan to include a list of executive databases that “contain personal and private information of American citizens that DOGE has accessed” and prohibit employees of the Elon Musk-led group and its partners from accessing this information. The amendment was struck down in a vote.

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