Government Waste Rampant, According to New Report

A new report by the House Budget Committee Majority details longstanding waste throughout the federal government. The report, “Reviving the Reform Agenda,” aims to renew congressional focus on accountability in the spending of taxpayer dollars. According to the report “Federal programs continue to waste billions of dollars annually through longstanding, systemic problems that persist – and in some cases are growing worse – despite repeated warnings from the Government’s principal watchdogs, the General Accounting Office [GAO] and the inspectors general [IG] of government agencies.”

For example, the Budget Committee reports $19.1 billion in improper government payments in 1998, and explains this figure only accounts for payments that could be quantified. The GAO recently said, “Improper payments are much greater than have been disclosed thus far.”