Improper payments
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The Defense Department reported making just $1.1 billion in improper payments in fiscal 2011, a small fraction of the Pentagon's total outlays of more than $1 trillion. But, in a new report, the Government Accountability Office said those estimates are neither reliable nor statistically valid because of "longstanding and pervasive" weaknesses in DoD financial-management practices as well as specific deficiencies in the department's procedures for estimating improper payments.
June 10, 2013 -
The Office of Personnel Management has made steady progress chipping away at a longstanding backlog of retirement claims. But Oversight Committee lawmakers and other government watchdogs remain concerned that the absence of a long-term plan to overhaul the mostly paper-based process combined with across-the-board budget cuts and a lack of strong leadership within OPM could stall or derail the progress the agency has made.
May 09, 2013 -
Senate lawmakers are promising to change the laws to let agencies have easier access to the Death Master File and other key databases. Starting June 1, agencies must check the Do Not Pay list before issuing any money.
May 09, 2013 -
Kay Daly, the assistant inspector general for audit services at Health and Human Services, tells Federal News Radio why HHS has made so many improper payments and what the agency is doing to fix the problem.
April 11, 2013 -
The House this week approved a handful of bills aimed at improving federal financial management and oversight of government operations. Two of the bills — one requiring the Homeland Security Department to pass a complete financial audit and the other lightening the mandatory caseload of the Government Accountability Office — have already been passed by the Senate and head to the president's desk for his signature.
December 14, 2012 -
OMB Controller Danny Werfel announced Wednesday the federal government avoided paying out $47 billion in overpayments over the last three years. This missed President Barack Obama's goal of reducing improper payments by $50 billion by the end of FY2012.
November 23, 2012 -
Federal News Radio evaluated a total of five initiatives meant to rally federal managers' enthusiasm, expertise and duty as part of the special report, The Obama Impact: Evaluating the Last Four Years. We determined more progress was needed on the administration's performance management and regulation reduction efforts. We called the President's plan to reorganize the Commerce Department a bust but find effective efforts surrounding energy sustainability and cutting waste, fraud, abuse and improper payments.
September 17, 2012 -
A chart of the six agencies with the most improper payments in 2011.
September 14, 2012 -
The President's Management Advisory Board wants agencies to focus on reducing improper payments and making strategic sourcing mandatory.
September 10, 2012 -
Over the last three years, agencies understood the problem better, improved how they tracked the information and used advanced data analysis tools to lower the governmentwide rate to 4.69 percent from 5.42 percent in 2009. While the amount of money improperly paid out hit a high of $125 billion in 2010, Danny Werfel, the Office of Management and Budget's controller, expects it to drop for a second consecutive year, below the $115 billion mark in 2011.
September 04, 2012 -
The inspector general for the Social Security Administration estimated the agency is sitting on about $134 million for benefit checks that sit uncashed by recipients for more than a year - money subsequently returned to the agency. But the IG report found most of the recipients who didn't cash their checks are still eligible for the assistance and the SSA could take additional steps to ensure they receive them.
July 24, 2012 -
Information regarding a person's death is not always correctly transferred between the Social Security Administration's databases, according to a new report from the agency's inspector general. As a result, various agencies may be sending money to dead people or fraudsters.
July 13, 2012 -
The White House launched a new "Do Not Pay" tool on Thursday to prevent improper payments to individuals and companies. Agency heads must submit plans to adopt the tool by June 30.
April 12, 2012 -
Jane Oates, the assistant secretary of employment and training administration at DoL, joined In Depth with Francis Rose to discuss details of the department\'s new program.
March 16, 2012 -
The Association of Government Accountants recently released recommendations on how federal agencies can cut improper payments as a way to cut costs.
November 28, 2011