The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) says the federal government made massive payment errors during the 2024 fiscal year.
In a new report, the congressional watchdog says the total dollar value of the government’s “improper payments” hit $162 billion.
According to the GAO, payment errors can be anything between unintentional administrative errors and fraud.
They can be payments in excess of what is due or underpayments where recipients did not receive the money they were due.
They can also be unknown payments where an agency cannot determine whether the bill is proper or improper due to documentation issues or technically improper payments where recipients got the correct amount of money but the payout did not meet one or more government requirements.
Says the GAO,
“The fiscal year 2024 government-wide total of reported improper payment estimates was $162 billion, but it did not include estimates for certain government programs. Twelve of the 24 agencies covered by the Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990 reported material weaknesses or significant deficiencies in information system controls.”
The GAO says improper payments or payment errors are a material weakness that needs to be resolved given that the federal government spent $1.8 trillion more than it made in the 2024 fiscal year, which ran from October 1st, 2023 to September 30th, 2024.
The watchdog is now calling on federal agencies to revamp its bookkeeping protocols to help alleviate the country’s dire financial issues.
“It is vital that the United States remains in a strong economic position to meet its social and security needs, as well as to preserve flexibility to address unforeseen events such as an economic downturn or large-scale disaster.”
At time of writing, the US national debt stands at $36.22 trillion.
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