According to an Oversight Report recently published by OpenTheBooks, a project of American Transparency, the federal government has wasted a staggering $528 billion due to improper payments in the first two years of the Biden administration.
The report, entitled “Improper Payments,” is a part of OpenTheBooks’ ongoing efforts to promote government transparency and accountability.
“Since 2004, 27 federal agencies have wasted $2.9 trillion (inflation adjusted to 2022) in improper spending, giving away tens of billions of dollars of taxpayer money every year to people who shouldn’t have received it,” states Adam Andrzejewski, the Founder and CEO of OpenTheBooks.
The FY 2022 data shows that “improper payments totaled $247 billion — that’s $20.5 billion per month, $683 million per day, and $474,305 per minute.”
According to the report, most of these improper payments were in areas like the Department of Health and Human Services’ Medicaid ($81 billion); HHS’s Medicare — consisting of several parts — ($47 billion); and Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program ($29 billion).
Improper payments are defined as “payments that should not have been made or that were made in an incorrect amount.”
They can occur due to a multitude of reasons, such as the federal agency having incorrect information, non-compliance with the law, states not providing necessary information, and more.
Despite executive orders to stop improper payments by then-President Barack Obama, and then-President Donald Trump’s note on the importance of eliminating such payments in his Budget to Congress for FY 2021, improper spending has continued to be a significant issue.
“While a noble goal, it hasn’t happened,” Andrzejewski states.
The report shows that improper spending “peaked in 2010 at $242 billion, and decreased over the next several years, until beginning to steadily rise again in the middle of Trump’s administration.”
Andrzejewski emphasizes, “With the national debt standing at $31.7 trillion, more must be done. Tell Congress and the Biden Administration to prevent this massive waste of national resources.”
The report’s conclusion insists on the importance of citizen involvement: “Our oversight reports present hard data so citizens, media, think tanks, politicians, and watchdogs can ‘follow the money.’ Hard facts are non-partisan and enhance the public discourse.”
OpenTheBooks, a 501(c)(3) project of American Transparency, is committed to carrying out the vision of the late U.S. Senator Tom Coburn, a staunch advocate for government transparency and fiscal responsibility, whose bipartisan efforts with then-Senator Barack Obama led to the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006.
Read the full report.