Published at OpenTheBooks.Substack.com
The Biden-Harris administration is fond of marking historic firsts, but this will be a rather ignominious one. No sitting president has ever admitted to $1 TRILLION in improper payments during a single four-year term, but President Biden is on pace to do just that before he leaves office.
Federal agencies threw out over $764 billion on improper payments in fiscal years 2021-2023, or $801.4 billion after adjusting for inflation.
Barring something unprecedented, the total will cross the trillion-dollar mark by the time President Biden’s term ends. It would be a nearly $200 billion increase in improper payments from President Trump’s administration, adjusted for inflation.
That’s a lot of cash to lose between the proverbial couch cushions!
An improper payment is “made by the government to the wrong person, in the wrong amount, or for the wrong reason,” according to federal guidelines. It includes both overpayments and underpayments due to fraud, mistakes or administrative errors.
The federal government self-reported a net $235.8 billion in improper payments for fiscal year 2023.
That’s more than the entire budget of every state except California.
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