Written by: @kristenshylin_
The U.S. Government Accountability Office, an independent government agency that monitors government spending, announced that millions of deceased people received $1,200 payments by the end of April.
According to The Guardian, a federal watchdog reported that the Trump administration spent roughly $1.4 billion on improper payments.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Payments to all people deceased or incarcerated must be returned, the IRS said.
The USGAO reported that the error was the result of the system used to issue the payments.
In the report, the USGAO said the method used had the same structure as the system used during the Great Recession of 2008. The system also did not sync the IRS and U.S. Treasury together, leaving out death records.
The USGAO called for Congress to provide treasury with the resources needed to rule out deceased citizens.
“IRS has access to the Social Security Administration’s full set of death records, but the treasury and its Bureau of the Fiscal Service, which distributes payments, do not.”
The legislative branch government agency concluded that allowing the treasury to access death records would decrease the number of improper payments.
In its report, the agency explained why it is essential to consistently use critical safeguards when providing government assistance to individuals.
This reoccurring problem could cause Congress to reject Donald Trump’s plan to issue more relief payments. Congress has the power to block further government assistance due to bureaucratic dysfunction, The Guardian reported.
