Government doesn’t just spend too much of your money; it loses too much of it too. Far too often, Washington spends money on justified causes, such as emergency assistance after a natural disaster or the deployment of rural broadband, but the people it was intended to help rarely see it come into their communities. To fix Americans’ trust in our government, real congressional oversight — actually following the money — is more important than ever, especially after a record $11 trillion in spending over the last two years.
Consider these recent examples of fiscal fiascos.
The non-partisan Government Accountability Office (GAO) estimates that the federal government lost $247 billion to improper payments in fiscal year 2022.
President Biden has spent over $1.5 trillion without congressional approval through executive actions since taking office. Reckless spending, sustained inflation, and failed economic policies are further dragging down the nation’s fiscal state.
Consequently, according to Fitch Ratings, our debt-to-GDP ratio is on track to be triple the median ratio of nations holding AAA ratings.
Furthermore, the independent Congressional Budget Office (CBO) now anticipates the deficit will be nearly $2 trillion in 2023, which is double what the deficit was projected for the year President Biden was inaugurated.
This is the wrong kind of exceptionalism.
News to you? You are not alone.
Government blunders are common in Washington, just not commonly known.
It’s time to change that.
Exposing government waste and mismanagement through oversight is the kind of clear check needed.
To that end, House Budget Committee Republicans are establishing an Oversight Task Force — a first of its kind initiative to provide transparency to the American public and restore fiscal responsibility throughout the federal government.
By promoting accountability, transparency, and program integrity, the Task Force will focus on three key areas of reform: reining-in wasteful spending, right-sizing the bureaucracy, and unleashing economic growth through deregulation.
We’ve already begun a top-to-bottom assessment of wasteful spending by focusing on improper payments, working with our colleague Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) at the House Oversight Committee and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.). Together we are examining ways to stop money from flowing to the wrong people or in the wrong amounts, along with better ways to recapture fraudulent funds once they go out the door.
In addition to the $247 billion from GAO’s report, there are billions in fraudulent pandemic payments still being accounted for.
For example, according to the Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General (OIG), there are currently at least $191 billion in fraudulent pandemic Unemployment Insurance (UI) payments, with a large amount going to criminal and foreign syndicates. In a recent report, the OIG stated over 160,000 UI fraud complaints are still under review and they receive approximately 100-300 new complaints each week.
Additionally, lawmakers are only supposed to fund programs annually that are “authorized” by law. These authorizations set funding limits, detail the mission of an agency or program, and update congressional intent about how money should be spent. Last year alone, Democrats abdicated their constitutional duties by letting these programs lapse, funding over $500 billion in unauthorized programs.
Our Oversight Task Force will work closely with each congressional committee to update these expired programs and work to eliminate unauthorized spending.
We will also investigate government spending in the largest and fastest growing areas of the federal budget: automatic spending on health, welfare, and other support programs. Together, these entitlement programs constitute over 40 percent of the budget.
Further expanding entitlement mandatory spending threatens our economic health and future prosperity. We will never reverse the curse of damaging debt and deficits until these important programs provide better services at lower costs and are targeted toward the people who need them most.
Congress often promises but fails to deliver. The House Budget Committee will keep its commitment to the American people, authorizing this Task Force to go where the facts and the dollars lead. By holding Washington accountable, and protecting your money in the process, we will do our part to rebuild faith and trust in government.
Jack Bergman is the chairman of the House Republican Budget Committee Task Force on Oversight.