{"id":2403692,"date":"2025-02-18T11:03:02","date_gmt":"2025-02-18T16:03:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/doge-uncovers-budget-line-item-issue-that-made-4-7-trillion-in-government-payments-almost-impossible-to-trace\/"},"modified":"2025-02-18T11:06:20","modified_gmt":"2025-02-18T16:06:20","slug":"doge-uncovers-budget-line-item-issue-that-made-4-7-trillion-in-government-payments-almost-impossible-to-trace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/doge-uncovers-budget-line-item-issue-that-made-4-7-trillion-in-government-payments-almost-impossible-to-trace\/","title":{"rendered":"DOGE Uncovers Budget Line Item Issue That Made $4.7 Trillion in Government Payments &#8216;Almost Impossible&#8217; to Trace"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">34<\/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%2Fdoge-uncovers-budget-line-item-issue-that-made-4-7-trillion-in-government-payments-almost-impossible-to-trace%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=2403692&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>The article discusses recent changes made to the \u2062U.S.\u200c Treasury&#8217;s payment tracking system, prompted by\u200d the \u2064Department of \u2063Government Efficiency\u200b (DOGE). Previously, a significant portion of taxpayer\u2062 funds\u2014approximately $4.7\u2063 trillion\u2014was mismanaged due to an optional identification code field, making it nearly unfeasible\u200b to \u200dtrace expenditures. As of a recent update, this \u2063field is now mandatory, enhancing transparency regarding taxpayer dollars. Elon Musk, who is associated \u2062with DOGE, praised this advancement as a major improvement in government\u200b spending integrity. the initiative aims to reduce\u200c waste and fight corruption through various financial reforms, leading to an estimated $55 billion \u200cin savings for taxpayers. The \u2063article \u2063also points out that, while Musk is a key figure, he does not\u200c <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">hold \u2062official decision-making power<\/a> within the government, as clarified by a \u200brecent \u2063official\u2062 document.  <\/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<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>It could be here. It could be there. It could be almost anywhere.<\/p>\n<p>So says the Department of Government Efficiency about almost $5 trillion in taxpayer money that has been spent on who-knows-what.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The Treasury Access Symbol (TAS) is an identification code linking a Treasury payment to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/texas-state-dem-lawmakers-not-ruling-out-another-walkout-to-block-election-integrity-bill\/\" title=\"Texas state Dem lawmakers not ruling out another walkout to block election integrity bill\">budget line item<\/a> (standard financial process). In the Federal Government, the TAS field was optional for &mdash; $4.7 Trillion in payments and was often left blank, making traceability almost impossible,&rdquo; DOGE <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/DOGE\/status\/1891614960452522187\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">posted on X<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;As of Saturday, this is now a required field, increasing insight into where money is actually going. Thanks to @USTreasury for the great work,&rdquo; the post said.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/democratic-senator-flips-elon-musks-doge-arrives-irs-building\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Musk<\/a> noted that the problem should not take place going forward.<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"stnvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Major improvement in Treasury payment integrity going live! This was a combined effort of @DOGE @USTreasury and @FederalReserve. Nice work by all,&rdquo; he <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/elonmusk\/status\/1891623317603324271\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">posted on X<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>DOGE has been controversial because of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/usaid-scandal-means-everday-americans\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">high-velocity impact<\/a> of its analysis of government spending and recommendations to close loopholes and cut waste.<\/p>\n<p>In a <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/WatcherGuru\/status\/1887952823154844040\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">video posted to X<\/a> last week, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/trump-musk-allege-us-government-paid-mainstream-media-outlet-millions-large-scale-social-deception\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">President Donald Trump<\/a> said DOGE is an integral part of his efforts to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/exclusive-retired-lt-gen-keith-kellogg-endorses-gino-campana-for-colorado-senate-race\/\" title=\"Exclusive \u2014 Retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg Endorses Gino Campana for Colorado Senate Race\u00a0\">cut government waste<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;re talking about trillions of dollars,&rdquo; Trump said. &ldquo;It will be, in the end, trillions of dollars being absolutely wasted and perhaps illegally. I would say certainly, in many cases, illegally.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m very proud of the job that this group of young people, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-sends-doge-to-pentagon-to-do-what-they-did-with-usaid-only-bigger\/\" title=\"Trump Sends ... to Pentagon to Do What They Did With USAID Only Bigger\">generally young people<\/a>, but very smart people have been doing,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re doing it at my insistence. It would be a lot easier not to do it, but we have to take some of these things apart to find the corruption, and we found tremendous corruption.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;This is not some roving band. &hellip; This is methodical, and it is going to yield big savings,&rdquo; Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said last week, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2025\/02\/17\/us-news\/doge-discovers-4-7-trillion-in-treasury-payments-were-missing-critical-code\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">New York Post<\/a>.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">WTH is really going on inside our government?<\/p>\n<p>We&rsquo;re being completely ripped off by those supposed to help protect our way of life. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/elonmusk?\">@elonmusk<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DOGE?\">@DOGE<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;DOGE says it found nearly untraceable budget line item responsible for $4.7T in payments.&rdquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/realDonaldTrump?\">@realDonaldTrump<\/a> People must be&hellip;<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; General Mike Flynn (@GenFlynn) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/GenFlynn\/status\/1891756089038790828?\">February 18, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>On Monday, <a href=\"https:\/\/doge.gov\/savings\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">DOGE posted<\/a> that collectively, its estimated savings are a $55 billion benefit to taxpayers.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Let&rsquo;s balance the budget! DOGE&rsquo;s total estimated savings are $55 billion, which is a combination of fraud detection\/deletion, contract\/lease cancellations, contract\/lease renegotiations, asset sales, grant cancellations, workforce reductions, programmatic changes, and regulatory savings,&rdquo; it posted.<\/p>\n<p>Although Musk is the public face of DOGE, a new document said others do the actual work, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/elon-musk-doge-administrator-white-house-advisor-2032455\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Newsweek<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Joshua Fisher, director of the Office of Administration, issued a document saying Musk is &ldquo;an employee of the White House Office&rdquo; and &ldquo;holds a position as a non-career Special Government Employee.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Like other senior White House advisors, Mr Musk has no actual or formal authority to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/musk-is-only-an-adviser-not-a-doge-employee-white-house\/\" title=\"... is only an adviser, not a ... employee: White House\">make government decisions<\/a> himself,&rdquo; he said, adding, &ldquo;Mr. Musk is not the U.S. DOGE Service Administrator.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<style> \t\t\t \t\t\t.insticator-unit.type-commenting{margin: 0 10px 25px 10px}@media screen and (max-width:1060px){#div-insticator-ad-cmt-1, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-2, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-3, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-4{margin: 0 auto 25px auto !important;}}#div-insticator-ad-cmt-1, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-2, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-3, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-4{height: 280px !important; width: 336px !important} \t\t<\/style>\n<div class=\"insticator-unit type-commenting\">\n<div class=\"insticator-ads\"> \t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t<script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\t\t\tif ( ! getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tInsticator.ad.loadAd(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-1\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tInsticator.ad.loadAd(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-2\"); \t\t\t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-1\").remove() \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-2\").remove() \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t<\/script> \t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"insticator-ads additional\"> \t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t<script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\t\t\tif ( ! getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tInsticator.ad.loadAd(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-3\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tInsticator.ad.loadAd(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-4\"); \t\t\t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-3\").remove() \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-4\").remove() \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t<\/script> \t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Department of Government Efficiency has raised concerns about nearly $5 trillion in taxpayer funds that have been spent without clear accountability. They explained that the Treasury Access Symbol (TAS), which connects Treasury payments to specific budget items, was previously optional for approximately $4.7 trillion in payments and often left blank, complicating efforts to trace these expenditures. However, as of Saturday, this field is now mandatory, enhancing transparency regarding the allocation of funds. Elon Musk acknowledged this change on X and emphasized that such issues should not recur in the future.<\/p>\n<p>Musk highlighted a significant improvement in the integrity of Treasury payments resulting from collaboration among DOGE, U.S. Treasury, and Federal Reserve officials. DOGE has faced scrutiny due to its aggressive analysis of government spending and its proposals aimed at closing loopholes and reducing waste. In a recent video on X, former President Donald Trump praised DOGE&#8217;s role in identifying government waste amounting to trillions of dollars.<\/p>\n<p>Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described their approach as systematic rather than random and expressed confidence it would lead to substantial savings for taxpayers. On Monday, DOGE announced an estimated total savings benefit of $55 billion for taxpayers through various measures including fraud detection and contract renegotiations.<\/p>\n<p>While Musk is often seen as the face of DOGE&#8217;s initiatives, a document revealed that others are responsible for executing these efforts; Joshua Fisher from the Office of Administration clarified Musk\u2019s role as a non-career Special Government Employee without formal decision-making authority within the government structure<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2403693,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Elon-Musk-6.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[50567,23466,50569,50568,12404],"class_list":["post-2403692","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-budget-issues","tag-doge","tag-financial-tracking","tag-government-payments","tag-transparency"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Elon-Musk-6.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2403692","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=2403692"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2403692\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2403696,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2403692\/revisions\/2403696"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2403693"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2403692"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2403692"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2403692"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}