Waste, Fraud and Abuse
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Massachusetts lets SNAP, other public benefits fraudsters keep 97 cents of every stolen $1: report
Massachusetts Democratic Gov. Maura Healey has reportedly said she has declined to give SNAP recipient data to the Trump administration because of no assurances it will not be passed along to ICE.
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Three charged with stealing $20M in 'Free College Benefit Program'
Defendants accused of diverting Pell grants and other federal financial aid state funds through “fraudulent reimbursements and illegal incentive payments.”
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New York made $7.6 million in improper Medicaid payments to incarcerated people, audit reveals
In one example, an individual incorrectly remained enrolled in managed care for 23 months while incarcerated.
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Up to $8.5 billion in fraudulent unemployment claims paid by Michigan, report states
Whitmer touted what she sees as the agency's success in identifying bad claims.
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Prisoners, identity thieves reap COVID jobless benefits, as lax controls cost billions
Pandemic relief watchdog cites U.S. Department of Labor for directing states to accept self-certifications for unemployment benefits instead of claimants providing documentation.
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Rand Paul’s naughty list exposes $52 billion in wasteful federal spending
From $2.4 million for an Arctic dinosaur film to $250 million for border walls in the Middle East and North Africa, Kentucky senator uses Festivus list to call attention to wasteful spending.
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Teachers get raises, bonuses from federal COVID relief funds meant to reopen schools safely
NEA guidance issued in June outlined how unions could claim entitlement to increased teacher compensation from federal COVID-19 emergency relief funding and school cost savings realized during the pandemic.
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Sen. Johnson asks federal agencies about 'employee productivity' while teleworking
"It is unclear the extent to which government employees are still teleworking," Sen. Johnson said.
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Large share of federal COVID relief for safe school reopening diverted to non-pandemic uses: report
Estimated 40%-65% of funds to protect teachers, students, from virus go to new tracks, tennis courts, stadium expansion, and, security cameras.
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Stunning waste: Unemployment fraud during COVID cost more than triple total benefits paid in 2019
At least 10% of all unemployment benefits paid during the pandemic were lost to fraud.
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Infrastructure law spends $250M to remove wild parsnips, other invasive plants from roads, railways
Also targeted for elimination by mowing or other best practices: cheatgrass, Ventenata dubia, medusahead, bulbous bluegrass, Japanese brome, rattail fescue, Japanese honeysuckle, phragmites, autumn olive, Bradford pear, sericea lespedeza, spotted knapweed, garlic mustard, and palmer amaranth.
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Despite supply-chain logjams, infrastructure bill allocates $250M to target truck emissions at ports
Critics have attributed bottlenecks to draconian California emissions standards excluding much of U.S. trucking fleet from transporting cargo to and from ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, the nation's two largest.
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CDC awarding $8 million for 'enhanced surveillance' of Americans recently diagnosed with HIV
Grantees are expected to "identify, locate and recruit all persons diagnosed in the past year with stage 0 or stage 3 infection" for "behavioral interviews" conducted by CDC-approved contractors.