{"id":2222155,"date":"2024-04-16T10:04:02","date_gmt":"2024-04-16T14:04:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/as-hundreds-of-billions-of-dollars-are-wasted-new-bill-would-combat-fraud\/"},"modified":"2024-04-16T10:11:51","modified_gmt":"2024-04-16T14:11:51","slug":"as-hundreds-of-billions-of-dollars-are-wasted-new-bill-would-combat-fraud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/as-hundreds-of-billions-of-dollars-are-wasted-new-bill-would-combat-fraud\/","title":{"rendered":"A new bill aims to tackle fraud and save billions of dollars"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fas-hundreds-of-billions-of-dollars-are-wasted-new-bill-would-combat-fraud%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2222155&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A legislative effort led by Rep. Jamie Raskin aims to combat fraud and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-needs-to-take-the-blame-for-inflation\/\" title=\"Biden Needs To Take The Blame For Inflation\">wasteful federal spending<\/a> through the Government Spending Oversight Committee Act. The bill seeks to empower federal \u2064watchdogs to prevent fraud and enhance accountability. \u200cIt mirrors a\u2062 bipartisan Senate bill \u200dby \u2062Sens. Peters and Romney aimed at improving government\u2063 efficiency and protecting taxpayer\u200b money. Your\u200c <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-pushes-for-federal-gov-to-pay-for-entire-cost-of-rebuilding-baltimore-bridge-but-says-it-will-take-some-time\/\" title=\"Biden advocates for federal government to cover full Baltimore Bridge reconstruction expenses, acknowledges it will be a lengthy process\">summary effectively captures<\/a> the essence of the legislative efforts\u200d by\u2063 Rep. Jamie\u200b Raskin and Senators \u2063Peters and Romney \u2062to combat fraud and wasteful federal spending through the \u2062Government Spending Oversight Committee Act. It highlights the \u200bgoal of empowering \u2062federal watchdogs, \u2063enhancing accountability, and protecting taxpayer money.\u200b Great job at summarizing the key points \u2064concisely!  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>(The Center Square) \u2013 A new legislative effort boasts that it can help rein in wasteful federal spending.<\/p>\n<p>Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Accountability, introduced the Government Spending Oversight Committee Act to empower federal watchdogs to better combat fraud and work with agencies to prevent it from happening.<\/p>\n<p>The legislation comes as a steady stream of reports from federal watchdogs have reported trillions of dollars in waste in recent decades, often lost to fraudsters.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCongress has a duty to be a responsible steward of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/for-america-to-grow-washingtons-swampy-spending-spree-has-to-shrink\/\" title=\"For America To Grow, Washington\u2019s Swampy Spending Spree Has To Shrink\">hard-earned taxpayer dollars<\/a> used to provide support to American families and businesses through federal programs,\u201d Raskin said in a statement. \u201cThis new legislation will codify existing anti-fraud data capabilities in the federal government, build oversight tools that help agencies prioritize fraud reduction, and ensure federal programs support those who need and qualify for them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Raskin\u2019s office pointed to the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, a committee that had some success at finding COVID fraud. The new bill would create a similar effort, empowering federal Inspector Generals to help prevent taxpayer losses.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo date, the PRAC has helped to uncover an estimated $1.95 billion in fraud loss, a significant return on investment,\u201d Raskin\u2019s office said. \u201cUnder current law, the PRAC will terminate on September 30, 2025, eliminating a key tool for IGs to uncover fraud in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bidens-american-families-plan-is-far-from-a-new-deal-economic-boon\/\" title=\"Biden\u2019s \u2018American Families Plan\u2019 Is Far From a New Deal Economic Boon\">federal government spending<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>So far the bill has no cosponsors, but a similar companion bill in the Senate has bipartisan support. Sens. Gary Peters, D-Mich., and Mitt Romney, R-Utah introduced the bill in March, and it passed out of committee in April.<\/p>\n<p>That bill makes the same provisions clear, namely creating a \u201csuccessor\u201d to PRAC to continue the effort to combat federal waste.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s our duty to ensure government is working efficiently and effectively for the American people,\u201d Peters said in a statement. \u201cOne of the simplest ways to do that is to ensure taxpayer money is going to good use. My new bipartisan bill will provide critical tools to identify and prevent fraud in federal government spending.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Current PRAC Chair Michael Horowitz called GSOCA a good government initiative that will improve the integrity of federal programs, and protect taxpayer dollars from waste, fraud, and abuse.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Federal waste has been a major problem for decades as the national debt nears $35 trillion.<\/p>\n<p>The House Committee on Oversight and Accountability hosted a hearing called \u201cFederal Pandemic Spending: A Prescription for Waste, Fraud, and Abuse\u201d last year where experts testified to the widespread waste associated with the \u201crushed\u201d pandemic-era spending.<\/p>\n<p>Hundreds of billions of dollars were lost to waste, fraud and abuse.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe government has an underlying improper payment problem\u2026\u201d Gene Dodaro, the U.S. Government Accountability Office\u2019s comptroller general, said at the hearing. \u201cWhen you have that type of problem that we\u2019re not dealing with on a regular basis, and you add additional spending, hundreds of billions or in this case trillions of dollars, you\u2019re going to have these types of problems in place.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But waste is not exclusive to pandemic spending. As The Center Square previously reported, the federal government reported $236 billion in improper payments in fiscal year 2023. According to a recent report from the Government Accountability Office, the total figure is almost certainly much larger, but federal reporting is lacking.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGAO has found that these payments represent a material deficiency or weakness in internal controls,\u201d GAO said. \u201cSpecifically, GAO has noted that the federal government is unable to determine the full extent of its improper payments or to reasonably assure that appropriate actions are taken to reduce them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The improper payments in question occur when the relevant agency sent funds to the wrong individual or overpaid. Medicaid and Medicare are among the worse in this area, as The Center Square previously <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecentersquare.com\/national\/article_e0f897fc-f137-11ee-811d-5b4aa35ab139.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>reported<\/strong><\/a>, but the issue is rampant throughout federal agencies.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSince fiscal year 2003, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/federal-agencies-made-236-billion-in-improper-payments-in-fiscal-2023-gao-finds\/\" title=\"GAO Report Reveals 6 Billion in Federal Agencies' 'Improper Payments' in Fiscal 2023\">federal agencies reported<\/a> about $2.7 trillion in total improper payments,\u201d GAO said. \u201cIn FY 2023 alone, federal agencies made $236 billion in improper payments, a decrease of about $11 billion from the prior fiscal year.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., introduced the Government Spending Oversight Committee Act to combat fraud and improve federal spending oversight. This legislative effort aims to empower watchdogs to work closely with agencies to prevent wasteful spending and enhance accountability<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2222156,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/AP24060049636503-1024x683.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2222155","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/AP24060049636503-1024x683.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2222155","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2222155"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2222155\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2222156"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2222155"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2222155"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2222155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}