NW Kentucky News

Subcommittee on Government Operations and the Federal Workforce Chairman Pete Sessions (R-Texas) and Ranking Member Kweisi Mfume (D-Md.) are working together to address improper payments and fraud in federal government programs. They have written to Comptroller General Gene Dodaro of the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), requesting information on how federal agencies identify the root causes of improper payments and implement corrective actions. They also seek GAO's recommendations to reduce these payments across federal agencies.

"The Subcommittee on Government Operations and the Federal Workforce recently held its third hearing related to improper payments and fraud in the federal government. The goal of that hearing was to discuss agencies’ progress preventing improper payments and fraud in the federal government’s lifesaving programs," wrote the lawmakers. "The Subcommittee seeks to continuously evaluate whether agencies are getting better or worse at ensuring the levels of fraud seen during the pandemic will 'never happen again.' Unfortunately, because of limited or unreliable information maintained by federal agencies, the Subcommittee has been unable to adequately assess agencies’ progress."

A recent subcommittee hearing highlighted $2.7 trillion in improper payments since 2003, as reported by GAO. Witnesses at previous hearings emphasized that current methods are not fully addressing this ongoing issue. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has identified high-priority programs with significant improper payment values or risks.

"Federal law requires [high priority] programs report information such as the root causes of their improper payments, mitigation strategies, and corrective action measures. However, the amount of improper payments within these programs continues to grow," continued the lawmakers. "We ask that GAO regularly update Subcommittee staff on the progress of this review and provide periodic briefings on known practices that have helped prevent improper payments and fraud."

For further details, readers can access the letter addressed to Comptroller Dodaro.