2.2: Improper Payments
Reducing and Recapturing Improper Payments Other Information:
In 2009, the Federal Government reported improper payments of approximately $110 billion. These are payments to the wrong
person, for the wrong amount, or for the wrong reason. To address this problem, we set a goal of reducing improper payments
by a minimum of $50 billion between now and 2012. Last November, the President issued an Executive Order directing agencies
to take specific actions to significantly reduce these improper payments, and on July 22 the President signed into law the
Improper Payment Elimination and Recovery Act which provides agencies tools for doing so. Agency actions include identifying
programs with significant improper payment volumes, establishing more frequent tracking and analysis, and increasing transparency
about when and where improper payments occur. Each agency has designated a senior accountable official responsible for coordinating
its actions to reduce improper payments and achieve specific reduction targets. The President has also directed agencies to
adopt innovative tools and solutions for reducing waste, such as expanding and intensifying agency efforts to recapture improper
payments and enhancing payment accuracy through the creation of a government-wide “Do Not Pay” list. Agencies are making progress
toward achieving their reduction targets. For example, the United States Department of Agriculture announced this summer a
reduction in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program’s payment error rate to an all-time low in 2009, avoiding more
than $300 million in improper payments.
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