The government made about $106
billion in improper payments last year.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
The federal government is continuing
to dole out billions of dollars to people who shouldn't get them.
A
government watchdog agency said an estimated $106 billion in payments were made
in error last year: meaning they were the wrong amount, went to the wrong
person or lacked sufficient documentation.
The
improper payments could be even higher since not all agencies reported to the
Government Accountability Office.
The
White House acknowledged that "the loss to the Federal Government is
significant," but it pointed to a declining overall error rate: Just 3.5%
from 5% in 2009.
"[T]he
Administration, working together with the Congress, has significantly reduced
improper payments," Beth Cobert, deputy director for management at the
Office of Management and Budget, said in her testimony. "[W]e will
continue to work closely with agencies to find the root causes of the improper
payments."
The
Department of Agriculture's School Breakfast program, which provides free or
reduced-price meals to needy students -- had the highest error rate in 2013, at
25%.
Other
programs with error rates above 15% include the Earned Income Tax Credit and
the Small Business Administration's Disaster Assistance Loans program.
In
congressional testimony Wednesday, government agencies said they have been
working on better procedures and trying to recover improper payments already
made.
The
IRS said it is going to be challenging to make improvements, however, given its
lack of adequate funding.
The
agency says its 2014 budget of $11.29 billion is $850 million below the funding
it received in 2010, despite the surging fraud and identity theft that is
leading to many improper payments.
I
remain concerned about our ability to continue to make progress in all of these
areas in light of our ongoing difficult budget environment," IRS
commissioner John Koskinen said in his testimony.
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