A Little Bit of Real Money in the “Waste, Fraud, and Abuse” Category — Says the Government Accountability Office

© 2011 Peter Free

 

16 February 2011

 

 

Enough to put at a thin film on the bottom of the deficit bucket

 

Given the budget deficit, most knowledgeable people recognize that cutting “waste, fraud, and abuse” won’t buy a one city-block ticket on the Reduction Bus.

 

But some of that category’s numbers are still noticeable, even to jaded eyes.

 

 

The Comptroller General, writing in the New York Times

 

Gene L. Dodaro, U.S. Comptroller General (and head of the Government Accountability Office) published a statement in the New York Times yesterday that indicated that the GAO had found more than a penny-hill of financial problems in government.

 

The Internal Revenue Service estimated in 2001 that the 16 percent of people and corporations who don’t pay taxes as required account for a shortfall of $290 billion.

 

Medicare pays $48 billion in fraudulent claims.

 

Medicaid suffers $22.5 billion in abuse.

 

Less obvious, but still significant, the Interior Department has not updated its oil and gas leasing revenue collection system for 25 years:

 

We have also pointed out that royalty collection relied too heavily on company-reported oil and gas production figures. In fiscal years 2006 and 2007 we found that much of the data reported by oil and gas companies appeared erroneous, resulting in millions in uncollected fees. And the proportion of revenues that the government collected for oil and gas produced in the Gulf of Mexico, according to a major study, was lower than for 93 of 104 other owners of such resources.

 

© 2011 Gene L. Dodaro, 30 Steps to Better Government, New York Times (15 February 2011)

 

Not to mention the shenanigans that probably go on in the Department of Defense’s 96 defense acquisition programs that total at least $303 billion annually.

 

Most programs, however, were still proceeding with less knowledge than best practices suggest, putting them at higher risk for cost growth and schedule delays.

 

© 2011 Gene L. Dodaro, 30 Steps to Better Government, New York Times (15 February 2011)

 

 

Congress and the Executive are part of the problem

 

Certainly, it is true that waste is part of any system.  It can be managed, but not eliminated.  Like disease or chronic health problems.

 

On the other hand, government leaders who deliberately handicap government agencies from doing their jobs, either out of a disrespect for government or an unwillingness to demand accountability, do the public no favors.

 

That category comprises just about everybody in federal leadership.