$236,000,000,000 in Improper Payments Made by US Government in One Year, Exposing Material Weakness in Internal Controls: Report

$236,000,000,000 in ‘Improper Payments’ Made by US Government in One Year, Exposing Material Weakness in Internal Controls: Report

The US government is botching hundreds of billions of dollars of payments per year, according to a new report.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) says federal agencies made $236 billion in “improper payments” last year – a number that includes overpayments, inaccurate recordkeeping and fraud.

The agency says the wasteful and erroneous spending is a systemic issue showing a serious weakness in how the government manages money.

Overpayments are the biggest issue by far, clocking in at $175.1 billion, followed by “unknown payments” at $44.6 billion.

The GAO says last years number represents an $11 billion decrease compared to 2022.

The agency has been tracking improper payments for 20 years and says the government has mishandled a staggering $2.7 trillion in payments in that time.

In 2023, 14 agencies reported improper payment estimates across 71 programs, with 79% of estimated improper payments concentrated in five areas:

• HHSs Medicare, comprising three programs ($51 billion)

• HHSs Medicaid ($50 billion)

• Department of Labors Unemployment Insurance – Federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance ($44 billion)

• Department of the Treasurys Earned Income Tax Credit ($22 billion)

• Small Business Administrations (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program Loan Forgiveness ($19 billion)

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