Nicole Silverio writes for the Daily Caller about bad news for federal government accountability.
A new report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that the government cannot tell if it is handing taxpayer dollars to individuals on the “do not pay list,” Republican Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst shared with the Daily Caller News Foundation Monday.
A draft of the report reviewed by the DCNF exposed that there is no way to cross-reference the USASpending.gov records detailing who receives government awards with who is on the “do not pay list.” Current law requires government expenditures to be listed on USASpending.gov so Americans can see who is receiving their taxpayer dollars, although there is currently no way of knowing whether the individuals receiving the funds are supposed to be.
“Washington made $186 billion in payment errors just last year and fraudsters are stealing $1.4 billion from taxpayers every day,” Ernst said in a statement to the DCNF. “Despite all the systems in place designed to prevent ineligible payments, the information isn’t always compatible, complete, consistent, or connected. As long as government offices and computers cannot or do not talk to each other, serial fraudsters, like the ones being exposed in Minneapolis, will keep getting away with scamming Uncle Sam.”
“Before giving out another cent, Washington needs to first verify the applicant is actually eligible for assistance, while also ensuring the beneficiary isn’t on the do-not-pay list,” Ernst continued. “Until that is achieved, taxpayers will continue being robbed in plain daylight. GAO is recommending a simple solution, and every day Washington delays action is costing us billions of dollars.”
Ernst referred to the defendants, most of whom were of Somali descent, in Minnesota who were convicted or charged with stealing up to $9 billion from the state’s Medicaid programs. Dozens were charged and convicted with stealing approximately $250 million from Feeding Our Future, a program intended to feed children during the COVID pandemic.
