WASHINGTON, D.C. — If the general public was asked to explain how Washington is using citizens’ tax dollars, would people be able to answer?
There’s actually a federal office that serves as the watchdog of Congress and it released a report on Tuesday that highlights the areas of government that are most vulnerable to waste or fraud.
What You Need To Know
- New federal report on government waste and fraud released Tuesday by watchdog
- Several Ohio lawmakers reviewed it during congressional hearings
- The report highlights 36 areas of government where tax dollars may be wasted
- Columbus think tank expert says Ohio can learn from the report as it cracks down on unemployment fraud
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) can be considered the hall monitor of the federal government.
Every two years, the GAO publishes what it calls the “High-Risk List,” and this year’s is the largest yet.
The more than 300-page report lists 36 federal government programs and operations that are either wasteful or vulnerable to fraud.
“Even though the federal government is spending trillions of dollars on these programs, it’s important to remember that this money comes from the wallet of taxpayers,” said Rea Hederman, vice president of policy at the Columbus-based conservative think tank The Buckeye Institute.
The GAO said it has helped save taxpayers nearly $575 billion in the last 15 years through these reports and other recommendations, but the head of the office told Congress on Tuesday that there’s more work to do.
“There have been some bright spots in improvement, however, our overall conclusion is that there’s been limited progress in the majority of the high risk areas,” Gene Dodaro, who oversees the GAO, testified.
One area of improvement is the Department of Defense, which managed to get taken off the list after reducing the amount of government office and warehouse space it was using.
But the GAO added two new areas: the Small Business Administration’s rollout of emergency loans throughout the coronavirus pandemic and federal programs that aim to fight drug abuse, which Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) touched on Tuesday.
“I think what you’ve done here in this report is pointed out the need for better coordination, which is really important. ONDCP, the Office of National Drug Control Policy, I think can play a more active role in coordinating the federal response,” Portman said during a Senate hearing on the report. “You also talk about data, which I think is really important. To have better information to be able to legislate.”
In a separate House hearing, northeast Ohio Rep. Bob Gibbs (R, OH-7) highlighted the fact that the report says the U.S. Postal Service does not have a sustainable business model.
“Their service has just gone to pot,” Gibbs said. “Wouldn’t you agree that congressional action is urgently needed to bring reform and that mere half measures and bandaids would be unacceptable?”
“Absolutely,” Dodaro replied.
Hederman, of The Buckeye Institute, said in an interview Tuesday that Ohio can learn lessons from the report as the state struggles to keep up with fraudulent unemployment claims.
Last month, the state announced that 44,000 claims were being reviewed for potential fraud and that more were suspected as the amount of people filing jumped nearly 200%.
“I think that’s something that Ohio can look at from the GAO report. What are the best practices in place to ensure better compliance? How do you have oversight and review to make sure that people aren’t duplicating, people aren’t obtaining benefits through fraud,” Hederman said.
