Each Year
WASHINGTON - Governmental Affairs
Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.) and Ranking Member
Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.), asked the heads and Inspectors General
of federal departments and agencies Tuesday to take steps to
reduce improper payments that are draining billions of dollars
from government programs each year.
"We are confident you agree that
administration of government funds is an essential public trust
and that agencies have a clear duty to ensure that this money is
properly spent in support of the agency’s missions and
goals," Lieberman and Thompson said in a letter dated June
26, which accompanied a recent General Accounting Office (GAO)
report recommending strategies to reduce improper payments.
"We are writing to 24 major departments and agencies asking
that they review this report with a focus on evaluating the
adequacy of their internal controls and implementing those
strategies that are appropriate for each agency."
Specifically, the letter asks departments and
agencies to assess their efforts in five areas outlined in
"Strategies to Manage Improper Payments," a May 2001
General Accounting Office (GAO) report compiled at the request
of Chairman Lieberman: creating accountability for program
integrity, identifying sources of risk for loss, determining the
extent of the problem with improper payments, developing a
strategy to reduce improper payments, and monitoring progress in
reducing improper payments.
According to recent reports by GAO, agencies
reported $20.7 billion in improper payments in FY 1999 alone,
and GAO said that the extent of improper payments is likely to
be much worse. Furthermore, GAO recently found that these
payments may be the result of agency errors such as duplicate
payments; poor management of programs; or outright fraud and
abuse.
The following is the text of a letter dated June
26, 2001 sent to the Inspectors General of 24 federal agencies and
major departments
The following is
the text of a letter dated June 26, 2001 sent to the heads of 24
federal agencies and major departments
