A recent audit revealed a disturbing lapse in oversight at the Environmental Protection Agency. The agency failed to adhere to established procedures when reviewing its own spending, leading to a significant underestimation of improper payments in both 2022 and 2023.
Improper payments represent a critical vulnerability in government spending – funds disbursed for the wrong reasons, in incorrect amounts, or to the wrong recipients. Each year, federal agencies are tasked with meticulously examining a sample of their payments to gauge the extent of these errors.
The EPA’s initial review in 2022 and 2023 focused on 751 payments originating from its state revolving funds, crucial resources for clean water and wastewater infrastructure projects. Their assessment concluded that only 31 payments were flawed.
That conclusion proved drastically inaccurate. A subsequent investigation by the Inspector General, focusing on a mere 20 payments the EPA had deemed proper, uncovered a shocking reality: 19 of those 20 payments were, in fact, improper, violating the Payment Integrity Information Act of 2019.
The scale of these errors is staggering, totaling $63.2 million. The audit detailed troubling inconsistencies, including payroll invoices lacking employee names and displaying hourly rates that didn’t correspond to any employee on record.
Further scrutiny revealed approved invoices from attorneys and engineers devoid of timesheets or any description of the work performed. Construction invoices were also flagged, missing essential signatures confirming project approval by city officials.
Federal agencies are obligated to identify and report programs susceptible to high rates of improper payments. Despite the emerging evidence, the EPA maintained that its state revolving funds posed no such risk in 2022 and 2023, a claim the audit directly refuted as being based on “inaccurate information.”
While $63.2 million represents a significant sum, it’s a fraction of the overall problem. Improper payments across all federal programs routinely exceed $200 billion annually, a colossal waste of taxpayer dollars.
This isn’t an isolated incident. Auditors have repeatedly identified improper payment issues across various agencies, highlighting a persistent challenge in maintaining fiscal responsibility. The EPA’s oversight failures add to a growing pattern of concern.
The situation is further complicated by a lack of transparency. The EPA failed to document the calculations behind its 2024 improper payment estimate and seemingly overlooked $222 million in grants during its review process. Similar issues plague other departments, like the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development, notably, has never published improper payment estimates for its two largest rental assistance programs, despite distributing $5.8 billion in rental assistance in 2024 without adequate fraud prevention measures.
Adding to the mystery, the Office of Management and Budget has yet to release the comprehensive data on improper payments for 2025. Typically available in mid-November, this crucial report remains unavailable, and inquiries to the White House have gone unanswered.
At a minimum, the government has a responsibility to accurately account for its mistakes. If ensuring proper spending proves elusive, honest reporting of errors is paramount to restoring public trust and safeguarding taxpayer funds.
