{"id":2407829,"date":"2025-02-28T08:41:59","date_gmt":"2025-02-28T13:41:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/time-to-end-big-gov-payments-that-cost-you-14k-every-decade\/"},"modified":"2025-02-28T08:45:47","modified_gmt":"2025-02-28T13:45:47","slug":"time-to-end-big-gov-payments-that-cost-you-14k-every-decade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/time-to-end-big-gov-payments-that-cost-you-14k-every-decade\/","title":{"rendered":"Time To End Big Gov. Payments That Cost You $14k Every Decade"},"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%2Ftime-to-end-big-gov-payments-that-cost-you-14k-every-decade%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=2407829&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 U.S. House of\u2063 Representatives \u200bheld its inaugural DOGE Subcommittee\u200b hearing \u2064on February 12, 2024,\u200b focusing on \u2062the issue of fraud and improper payments within the federal government. Over the past decade, improper payments have \u200ctotaled approximately $1.9\u200c trillion, including\u200d $567\u200b billion \u200battributed to\u200c Medicaid alone. These \u2064payments \u200brepresent money disbursed incorrectly, costing the average American household around \u200b$14,000, equivalent to\u2063 six weeks of groceries annually. President Donald Trump \u200dand Elon Musk, leading \u2064the Department of\u2062 Government \u200cEfficiency\u200c (DOGE), are addressing this issue, emphasizing\u2064 the \u2064need for Congressional support \u200cto tackle waste\u2063 and fraud effectively.<\/p>\n<p>The hearing highlighted that many government programs are plagued by significant improper payments, with especially egregious\u200c examples including the Farm Service Emergency Conservation \u2063Programme and the Earned Income Tax credit (EITC). Despite existing \u200blegislation aimed at curbing improper\u2062 payments, enforcement \u200dhas been lacking,\u2064 and agencies are \u200brarely held accountable for their oversights, \u200boften receiving \u200bincreased budgets instead.<\/p>\n<p>Proposals for <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">improvement include enhancing\u200d secure data\u200d sharing<\/a> between agencies \u2064to verify recipient eligibility and\u200d perhaps creating a Taxpayer integrity Office or a Fraud Czar to oversee and enforce stricter \u200dregulations. A focus on \u200creducing the\u2062 overall amount of government payments is also suggested, as improper\u200c payments have been increasing at a faster \u2062rate \u2064than total expenditures. The testimony underscores the need for\u200c Congress to take \u2062decisive action \u200cto secure \u200dtaxpayer \u200ddollars and improve overall government efficiency.  <\/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 U.S. House of Representatives held its first <a href=\"https:\/\/oversight.house.gov\/release\/hearing-wrap-up-doge-subcommittees-first-hearing-uncovers-billions-lost-to-fraud-and-improper-payments-launches-war-on-waste\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">DOGE Subcommittee<\/a> hearing on Feb. 12, focusing on fraud and improper payments.<\/p>\n<p>With the federal government having issued over <a href=\"https:\/\/www.paymentaccuracy.gov\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">$1.9 trillion in improper payments<\/a> over the past decade &mdash; including $567 billion in Medicaid programs alone &mdash; improper payments offer low-hanging fruit for improving government efficiency, but President Trump and <a href=\"https:\/\/epicforamerica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/EPIC-Improper-Payments-2024-Greszler.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">DOGE will need Congress&rsquo;s help<\/a> to successfully crack down on them.<\/p>\n<p>Improper payments &mdash; which have cost the average American household $14,000 over the last decade, or about 6 weeks&rsquo; worth of groceries per year &mdash; are checks the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/it-is-by-definition-an-emergency-mcconnell-blasts-biden-says-he-owns-crisis-at-the-border\/\" title=\"\u2018It Is, By Definition, An Emergency\u2019: McConnell Blasts Biden, Says He \u2018Owns\u2019 Crisis At The Border\">federal government sends<\/a> to the wrong people and in the wrong amount.<\/p>\n<p>President Donald J. Trump and Elon Musk, the driving forces behind the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, have already called out improper payments, with President Trump citing EPIC&rsquo;s research on improper payments <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/EPICforAmerica\/status\/1892986596674207920\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">from the Oval Office<\/a> as part of his efforts to root out waste, fraud, and abuse across the federal government.<\/p>\n<p>Improper payments are widespread across nearly every government program, but some are more outrageous than others. The worst offender in 2024 was the Farm Service Emergency Conservation Program, which spent 45 cents out of every $1 on improper payments.<\/p>\n<p>In the Earned Income Tax Credit program, or EITC, 27 cents out of every $1 was an improper payment in 2024. The EITC&rsquo;s total of $15.9 billion in improper payments equals the entire annual incomes of 200,000 typical households.<\/p>\n<p>And the government&rsquo;s health insurance programs &mdash; Medicare, Medicaid, Obamacare, and the Children&rsquo;s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) &mdash; combined sent out $88 billion in improper payments in 2024. That&rsquo;s enough to pay for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/preview-president-biden-to-unveil-1-8-trillion-american-families-plan-during-his-address-to-congress\/\" title=\"PREVIEW: President Biden To Unveil .8 Trillion \u2018American Families Plan\u2019 During His Address To ...\">health insurance premiums<\/a> of 9.8 million individuals or 3.4 million families.<\/p>\n<p>Despite Congress trying to stop the explosion in improper payments with legislation requiring agencies to report improper payments, establish plans to reduce them, and follow through with those plans, the laws have been all bark and no bite. Agencies that neglect the laws and have ever-rising improper payments face zero consequences. Rather, they&rsquo;re typically rewarded with even larger budgets to cover their mistakes or outright negligence.<\/p>\n<p>Take the Small Business Administration, for example. Vivek Ramaswamy noted <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/VivekGRamaswamy\/status\/1859080606342058285\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">in<\/a> an X post that &ldquo;the Small Business Administration granted over 100,000 forgivable loans to individuals who were on the DNP [Do Not Pay] list, resulting in $5.3 billion of payments to recipients who may have been ineligible for federal support. The SBA&rsquo;s Inspector General recognized this &amp; recommended the agency stop this, but the agency&rsquo;s current leadership rejected the proposal.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>While DOGE can and already has done much on its own, ensuring significant and lasting reductions in improper payments will require Congress&rsquo;s help.<\/p>\n<p>For starters, since most improper payments are the result of agencies&rsquo; failure to identify that people are who they say they are and that they are eligible for the payments they claim, Congress should improve and mandate secure data sharing, which will likely require amending the Privacy Act.<\/p>\n<p>To ensure continued emphasis on proper stewardship of taxpayers&rsquo; dollars, Congress should consider creating a Taxpayer Integrity Office or a Fraud Czar (covering fraud, misuse, abuse, and negligence). The mission of this new government entity should be to make it easier for federal programs to protect taxpayers&rsquo; money and harder for them to waste it. To be successful, Congress must empower the TIO or Fraud Czar with enforcement capabilities.<\/p>\n<p>Since federal health care programs waste the most money on improper payments, Congress should consider <a href=\"https:\/\/epicforamerica.org\/federal-budget\/reconciliation-option-medicaid-improper-payments\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reducing states&rsquo; Federal Medicaid Assistance Percentages<\/a> (FMAP) if they exceed reasonable improper payment rates.<\/p>\n<p>And Congress should use committee hearings to require agency heads, program leaders, and inspectors general to regularly provide an account of improper payments and answer questions about what they&rsquo;re doing to reduce them. Those in charge should know that they can lose their jobs if they fail to reduce improper payments.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, the most surefire way to reduce the government&rsquo;s improper payments is to reduce government payments. In 2024, the federal government spent $3.8 trillion, or $29,000 per household, on transfer payments. And improper payments are rising faster than total payments; over the past 20 years, total transfers shot up 262 percent and improper payments skyrocketed by 325 percent. By getting the federal government out of the business of what others &mdash; like individual people, businesses, charities, or state and local governments &mdash; can do better, Congress can reduce improper payments and also prevent <a href=\"https:\/\/epicforamerica.org\/federal-budget\/the-fiscal-red-line-how-close-is-the-u-s-to-its-borrowing-limit\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">a fiscal crisis<\/a>.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Rachel Greszler is Visiting Fellow in Workforce at the Economic Policy Innovation Center (EPIC).<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The U.S. House held its first DOGE hearing on Feb. 12, addressing fraud and improper payments<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3696,"featured_media":2407830,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/jp-valery-mQTTDA_kY_8-unsplash.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[37652,46473,34402,43700,32412],"class_list":["post-2407829","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-big-government","tag-cost-analysis","tag-economic-policy","tag-fiscal-responsibility","tag-government-spending"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/jp-valery-mQTTDA_kY_8-unsplash.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2407829","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\/3696"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2407829"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2407829\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2407833,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2407829\/revisions\/2407833"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2407830"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2407829"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2407829"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2407829"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}