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Agencies
- Department of Agriculture
- Department of Commerce
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- Department of Veterans Affairs
- Army Corps of Engineers
- General Services Administration
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- National Science Foundation
- Office of Personnel Management
- Small Business Administration
- Social Security Administration
- U.S. Agency for International Development
Improper payments occur when funds go to the wrong recipient, the recipient receives the incorrect amount of funds, documentation is not available to support a payment, or the recipient uses funds in an improper manner. In fiscal year 2011, Federal government improper payments totaled approximately $115 billion. Although not all improper payments are fraud (most are unintentional), and not all improper payments represent a loss to the government (many improper payments may have been proper, but are considered inaccurate due to missing documentation), all improper payments degrade the integrity of government programs and compromise citizens’ trust in government. To better protect taxpayers and improve efficiency, the Administration is working with Federal and State partners, Congress and other stakeholders to reduce improper payments without negatively impacting citizen access to needed programs. You can learn more about our efforts to reduce improper payments at PaymentAccuracy.gov