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The Treasury pays out $5 trillion per year, and previously, payments lacked budget codes, obscuring their purpose. A $4 billion COVID fund in the Department of Education had no receipt requirements, leading to funds being used to rent Caesars Palace and stadiums for parties. When a receipt upload requirement was implemented, fund drawdowns ceased, even though the receipts were not verified. Fraud often starts small and hidden, but escalates over time if unchecked, eventually becoming brazen, such as renting out stadiums.

We found that the government was essentially sending untraceable blank checks. If a public company did this, they'd be delisted and executives would go to prison, but it's normal in the government. We recommended to the Treasury and Federal Reserve that payment categorization codes be mandatory, not optional, and that every payment need some explanation, even if we don't judge the quality of it. This is a radical change that's now being implemented. I'm guessing it probably saves about $100 billion a year. Where was that money going? It's hard to say if it was waste or fraud. Many payments were just approved and kept going even after the approving officer changed jobs, retired, or died. It's like forgetting to cancel a gym membership, but instead of $20 a month, it's $20 billion a year.

"Big Balls" says that "Big Balls" is their LinkedIn username because people on LinkedIn take themselves too seriously and are adverse to risk, and they wanted to be neither of those things. "Big Balls" is working on payment computer stuff to root out fraud and waste. There is no accounting of what payments actually go to in the payment computer. When looking at a specific line item, like $20,000,000, for the majority of payment systems, they don't know what the money is going to. This is a huge cause for concern because the upstream thing which is distributing the money literally has no checks, and no accountability to the actual American taxpayer, making it a huge vector for fraud, waste, and abuse. There is no incentive if you work in the government to respect taxpayer money, and incentives decide the outcomes.

A $4 billion COVID fund in the Department of Education had no receipt requirements, allowing people to draw down money freely. Upon investigation, it was found that the funds were used to rent Caesar's Palace and stadiums for parties. The Department of Education implemented a simple change requiring recipients to upload a receipt before drawing down money. Although the receipts were not checked and could be fake, requests for money stopped entirely. Initially, fraud starts small and is concealed, but if left unchecked, it grows more brazen over time, eventually escalating to renting out stadiums.

We've discovered $2.7 trillion in improper payments to Medicare, Medicaid, and overseas recipients who shouldn't have received them. This is just one example of the fraud, waste, and abuse we're identifying daily. Elon Musk highlighted Social Security payments being made to deceased individuals, which is clearly fraudulent. We're also finding contracts where, for instance, a million dollars was allocated, but only $500,000 was actually spent. Where did the remaining funds go? These are the issues we're addressing daily. This is exactly what President Trump promised to do during his campaign, and we are delivering on that promise.

The federal government uses only one bank account, the treasury general account, to disperse all monies. There is allegedly $500 billion of fraud every year, and hundreds of billions of dollars in improper payments. The consolidated financial report produced by the treasury cannot pass an audit due to material weakness. Until recently, the federal government could not pass an audit because it lacked necessary payment information, such as payment codes, explanations, and contact information. Previously, over 580 agencies could make payments without verification, and the treasury would send them out as fast as possible. This is likened to a household where many people can access the bank account and disperse funds without justification or verification.

I estimate that waste, fraud, and abuse in federal, state, and local entitlement programs cost about $1 trillion annually. We could save this money by implementing three key measures: front-end identity verification, eliminating self-certification, and monitoring the back end of benefit programs. These steps would significantly reduce improper payments and ensure that benefits reach only those who are truly eligible.

As governor, I saw firsthand government waste, but what Elon is finding is stunning. One agency had 13,000 employees but 37,000 software licenses, many unused. With millions of federal employees and credit cards, the opportunities for fraud are immense. Shockingly, there are millions of dead people still in the Social Security system. We need to address the low-hanging fruit. Keep good employees but eliminate unnecessary positions. I was in a meeting where it was revealed there are more government credit cards than employees, and the number of people on Social Security rolls is incredible. Checks go out automatically, and nobody is checking. Contract officers retire, but the money keeps flowing. Even diligent companies struggle to stop improper payments. Agencies like USAID don't track appropriations. Basic changes are needed to ensure taxpayer dollars are spent wisely.

A $4 billion COVID fund in the Department of Education had no receipt requirements, allowing people to draw money freely. Upon investigation, it was found that the money was used to rent Caesar's Palace and stadiums for parties. The only change made was requiring recipients to upload a receipt before drawing funds. After this change, nobody requested money anymore. Although the receipts were not checked and could be fake, the mere request for documentation stopped the requests. Initially, fraud starts small and is hidden, but if unchecked, it grows more brazen each year until they are renting out stadiums.

I discovered that 20 million dead people are marked as alive in the social security database. Most fraud doesn't come directly from social security payments, but from disability, unemployment, and fake medical payments because these individuals are incorrectly marked as alive. We need to implement a simple "are you alive" check to prevent these fraudulent payments. This type of negligence would result in a public company being immediately delisted, and its executives imprisoned, but it's considered normal within the government. Therefore, I recommend that the Treasury and Federal Reserve make payment categorization codes mandatory, requiring an explanation for each payment, even if it's basic. This change would significantly improve the current system and potentially save hundreds of billions of dollars annually.

A basic search of the Social Security database revealed 20 million dead people marked as alive. While it's unclear if they're directly receiving Social Security payments, their "alive" status allows them to fraudulently obtain disability, unemployment, and fake medical payments. The fraud occurs because government databases don't communicate well. For example, the Treasury's main payments computer, PAM, handles $5 trillion in payments annually, roughly a billion dollars an hour. We discovered payments lacked categorization codes and descriptions, essentially untraceable blank checks. If a public company operated this way, it would be delisted, and executives would face imprisonment.

We can't track $2.3 trillion in transactions. That's two trillion, three hundred billion dollars.

The discussion centers on the main payments system, referred to as PAM, described as the “payments computer” and commonly called PAM by everyone. PAM is responsible for almost $5,000,000,000,000 in payments per year, which equates to roughly a billion dollars every hour. The speakers indicate that, upon their arrival, they observed what they describe as a severe lack of payment metadata: payments could be processed with no payment categorization code and no description, effectively creating payments that were “untraceable blank checks.” The speakers contrast this situation with how such conduct would be viewed in the private sector, stating that if this were a public company, the company would be immediately delisted and the executive team would be thrown in prison. They emphasize that, in the context they are discussing, this kind of exposure is considered normal within the government. The overall point is that the payments system operates with extremely little traceability or descriptive data attached to transactions, creating a scenario they characterize as highly problematic and unacceptable in the private sector but commonplace in the government.

The US Treasury Department has been flagged for potential waste and abuse of taxpayer funds, with about 23% of entitlements, roughly $50 billion annually, going to recipients without known Social Security numbers or IDs. This equates to about a billion dollars a week in potential fraud. Adding to the concern, the Treasury Department hasn't been keeping itemized records of their payouts, making it impossible to track where the money is actually going. Fortunately, an agreement has been made where the Treasury Department will start itemizing all payments, detailing where the money is going and to whom. It's unbelievable that the Treasury hasn't had to provide accountability for where taxpayer money is being spent, especially when individual taxpayers are held to a much higher standard.

For over a decade, I’ve been exposing egregious Washington waste with my monthly SQUEAL awards. Some examples are too outrageous to believe. I’m talking about bureaucrats approving PPP loans for applicants who used pictures of dolls for IDs. Imagine giving Barbie or Ken a taxpayer funded loan. Not only that, but they also believe folks claiming to be over 115 years old were alive and well enough to be approved for 3,095 PPP and idle loans worth $333,000,000 including $36,000 to a 157 year old. That’s pure hogwash. But this is only the tip of the iceberg. Instead of boosting Main Street, millions of your tax dollars were wasted through USAID to fund Iraqi Sesame Street. And this one is unacceptable. Improper payments or the government tossing cash into the wrong trough have become commonplace. In fiscal year twenty twenty four, federal agencies shoveled out $162,000,000,000 in improper payments. The most frustrating part is how simple it is to stop this waste. A report by the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee found that $79,000,000,000 in potential COVID fraud could have been prevented if four basic questions were asked. One, is the applicant's social security number valid? Two, if valid, does the name connected to that number match the name on the application? Three, does the birthday match? And lastly, is the individual alive? Seriously, folks, that could have saved $79,000,000,000 right there. The good news is that we can prevent nearly all improper payments in the future with my Doge in Spending Act that enacts common sense guardrails like those four simple questions.

The Treasury pays out $5 trillion per year, and previously, payments lacked budget codes, obscuring their purpose. A $4 billion COVID fund in the Department of Education had no receipt requirements, leading to funds being used to rent Caesars Palace and stadiums for parties. When a receipt upload requirement was implemented, fund drawdowns ceased, even though the receipts were not verified. Fraud often starts small and hidden, but escalates over time if unchecked, eventually becoming brazen, such as renting out stadiums.

Chairman Marcia Taylor Green's subcommittee discovered $2.7 trillion in improper payments to Medicare, Medicaid, and overseas recipients. These payments went to individuals who should not have received them. Doge is identifying fraud, waste, and abuse daily. Elon Musk mentioned Social Security payments being sent to deceased individuals. There are also contracts where, for example, a million dollars was allocated, but only $500,000 was disbursed, raising questions about the missing funds. Doge is actively addressing these issues. President Trump campaigned on this and is delivering on that promise.

Since 2012, the government has wasted nearly $3 trillion in taxpayer money. Last year alone, improper payments totaled $247 billion. This includes payments to deceased individuals; over $530 million in pension payments went to dead people. Medicare improperly paid out $47 billion, and Medicaid, $81 billion. Fraudulent payments under the Biden administration reached $764 billion in just three years. These improper payments add up to $2.8 trillion – enough to cover five years of US foreign aid. This amounts to $850 per person in the country.

Speaker 0 stated that people on LinkedIn take themselves too seriously and avoid risk, so they decided to do the opposite. Currently, they are working on payment computer initiatives to root out fraud and waste. Speaker 0 found that there is no accounting of where payments actually go within the payment computer. When looking at a specific line item, like $20,000,000, it is often unknown where the money is going. Speaker 0 believes this lack of accountability is a huge cause for concern because the upstream entity distributing the money has no checks and balances, making it a significant vector for fraud, waste, and abuse. They claim there is no incentive to respect taxpayer money when working in the government, and incentives determine outcomes.

The Treasury pays out $5 trillion per year, and previously, payments lacked budget codes, obscuring their purpose. A $4 billion COVID fund in the Department of Education had no receipt requirements, leading to funds being used to rent Caesars Palace and stadiums for parties. When a receipt upload requirement was implemented, fund drawdowns ceased, even though the receipts were not verified. Fraud often starts small and hidden, but escalates over time if unchecked, eventually becoming brazen, such as renting out stadiums.

My team at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) uncovered $100 billion in wasted Medicare and Medicaid funds. Working with two senior CMS veterans, we had read-only access to their payment and contracting systems. Our mission was to find ways to use resources more effectively, but we discovered massive waste and potential fraud. CMS processes over a billion Medicare claims annually and manages billions in Medicaid funds. They recently suspended 850 agents for suspected fraud. The Department of Justice has also been prosecuting healthcare fraud cases, with billions of dollars in losses. This discovery highlights a massive scandal, potentially the biggest in US history, and is prompting calls for similar transparency initiatives in other countries. We need major reform, absolute transparency over tax spending, and human oversight to ensure this doesn't happen again.

We're uncovering massive fraud, waste, and abuse daily. Recently, it was discovered that there were $2.7 trillion in improper payments to Medicare, Medicaid, and overseas. Social Security payments are even going to deceased individuals. We're also seeing contracts where the full amount wasn't delivered. For example, a million-dollar contract might only see $500,000 distributed, and we're working to find where the rest of the money went. This is exactly what I campaigned on, and what 77 million people elected me to do.

A lot of Americans' money has been stolen through fraud and improper payments. In one of my first hearings, we discovered criminals using social security numbers of dead people or people over 115 years old to get small business loans and steal money from federal programs. We need to work to fix these issues in our legislation, budgets, and appropriations. This is a bipartisan issue; we're addressing money being fraudulently used and stolen. The American people are being robbed blind through improper payments, fraud, and outdated systems. Some federal agencies hire third-party vendors to hold data instead of communicating within the government. We are currently $36 trillion in debt, and we can't afford to keep losing money this way.

We've found some odd things, like bureaucrats with modest salaries somehow accumulating millions while in their positions. It makes you wonder where that money comes from. It seems taxpayers are footing the bill for this wealth. Basic controls that any company would have are missing at Treasury, like payment categorization codes or comments explaining payments. The "do not pay" list, meant for terrorists and fraudsters, takes up to a year to get on and isn't even used. Departments fail audits because of these missing controls. It boils down to complaint minimization. Approving all payments avoids complaints, even from fraudsters. But we need to complain when money is misspent and demand taxpayer dollars are used wisely. It's just common sense. We even see people claiming Social Security who are 50 years old!

Governments need to find incentives for bureaucracy to adapt and improve, unlike individuals or businesses that can fail and die. The technology revolution has transformed organizations in the private sector, but not the government. Our financial systems are outdated, with an estimated $2.3 trillion in untrackable transactions. Additionally, information cannot be shared within this building due to incompatible and inaccessible technological systems.