Published on September 27, 2024, 12:30 am

The current US administration under President Biden and Vice President Harris is on the brink of overshooting the $1 trillion mark in inflation-adjusted improper payments, as indicated by a recent watchdog report. This disturbing trend places their term on course to registering the highest level of improper payments ever recorded by a single presidential tenure.

Improper payments, which are essentially misplaced funds made either to incorrect recipients, in incorrect amounts or for the wrong purposes, are categorical examples of government wastefulness. They encompass overpayments, underpayments, errors incurred during administrative processing and at times even fraud.

Reflecting upon this rising concern, a spokesperson for Open The Books argued that although leadership reiterates its aim of reducing such financial mismanagement, evidence states otherwise. He believes that with heightened spending comes an increase in mistakes and argues for increased accountability mechanisms within Congress to curb unnecessary financial losses.

An extensive analysis carried out by this watchdog reveals that the Biden-Harris administration has spent over $764 billion—approaching $800 billion post-inflation adjustments—in improper payments within their first three fiscal years. Extrapolating these numbers yields an alarming expenditure rate of about $450,000 per minute or equating to $7,500 each second.

If this trajectory is maintained throughout Biden’s term ending January 2025, it would set an unprecedented record of a colossal $1 trillion in improper payments. Without delving into specifics yet, it’s worth noting that a significant portion ($235 billion) occurred during just fiscal year 2023 alone. Furthermore, welfare medical programs Medicare and Medicaid were responsible for more than two-fifths (43 percent) of these misdirected funds last year amounting collectively to $101.5 billion.

Pertinent also to note is that stimulus packages devised amid COVID-19 crisis continue straining taxpayers’ wallets — estimated improprieties related to Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program aside from Paycheck Protection program rounds off to nearly $66.4 billion.

Adjunctly, indicators of a deeply entrenched mismanagement system emerge through scenarios such as deceased individuals having received approximately $295 million in retirement payments and prisoners incidentally obtaining about $171 million.

Tax fraudulent activities haven’t been absolved from this tangled web of incompetence either, with the Internal Revenue Service erroneously attributing an estimated $25 billion in tax credits; including over half a billion disbursed amongst families falsely claiming higher numbers of dependents. Progress is visible though, albeit slow, with the federal government managing to recover 29 percent ($51 billion) of wrongly paid amounts for 2023 so far.

While these statistics present a grim picture as is, the Government Accountability Office cautions that likely these are understatements not completely accounting for covert forms of defalcations like fraudulent schemes or collusions beyond general administrative oversights. A comprehensive report reiterated the potential magnitude across various sects such as document falsification or issuing false statements.

The rising trend hasn’t developed overnight — improper payments have afflicted the federal system for decades, with adjusted amounts crossing an astounding figure realized at $2.9 trillion from 2004 to 2022. Unfortunately, the current projection shows figures exceeding $3 trillion.

Consequently, bi-partisan efforts are coming to light aimed at providing more transparency surrounding improper payments proposed through legislation titled “Improper Payments Transparency Act”. If passed, it would stipulate stricter reporting guidelines towards improper spending and mandate periodic three-year tracking on all federal agencies boasting spending above $100 million.

Nevertheless, whether these substantial figures will indeed validate a call-to-action remains unforeseen for now; a reminder that in real news and trusted news from every perspective—especially that within a Christian worldview—the heartbreaking fact remains that US citizens continue shouldering unwanted financial burdens due to governmental inefficiencies. Desirefully though awareness might propel desired improvements within our governance mechanisms.