U.S. Federal Agencies Wasted $247 Billion in Improper Payments in 2022, Report Says

Several U.S. federal agencies reported improper payments worth $247 billion in 2022. Reports say the three departments that wasted most payments were the Department of Health and Human Services, the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program, and the Treasury Department.

OpenTheBooks, a nonprofit organization, states that the U.S. federal government wasted an average of $683 million every day in 2022. This means that in 2022, 17 U.S. federal agencies reported improper payments worth $247 billion, with an average of $20.5 billion every month.

According to an article on Fox Business, the three U.S. federal agencies with the most overpayments were the Department of Health and Human Services with $154.3 billion, the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program with $37.3 billion, and the Treasury Department with $25.9 billion.

Other U.S. federal agencies in the top ten are the Department of Labor with $19 billion, the Department of Education with $15.7 billion, and the Social Security Administration with $7.4 billion. The Department of Veterans Affairs with $3.5 billion, the Department of Defense with $2 billion, the Department of Agriculture with $1.9 billion, and the Department of Transportation with $756 million are also included on the list.

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U.S. Federal Agencies’ Budget Deficit

An article in Yahoo states that the U.S. federal agencies’ improper spending has contributed to the increase of the budget deficit. According to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB), the budget deficit has increased to $2.1 trillion since 2022. Furthermore, it is more than twice as large as the deficit before the COVID-19 pandemic.

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