$619 billion missing from U.S. government website which is supposedly aimed at making government spending more transparent was recently reported. The $619 billion missing is causing quite a stir in the recent news reports and has caused concern for many.
According to a report by the Government Accountability Office, the federal website USAspending.gov, where the $619 billion missing was reported of, was intended to provide transparency about how the tax dollars of American citizens are being spent. However, it appears that the public information is inaccurate.
According to USA Today, the website was found to have at least $619 billion missing from 302 federal programs, as reported by the GAO.
In 2007, the federal website which was found with the $619 billion missing, was launched under the Obama administration. It was tasked to record all expenditures made by the U.S. government, providing behind-the-numbers transparency of federal big budget spending, reports The Examiner.
On Aug. 5, USA Today reported that the site cannot reconcile the $619 billion missing from over 300 federal programs, of which includes the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of the Interior and even the White House itself.
Meanwhile, it is now known that the bulk of the $619 billion missing was mostly because of the HHS, with over $540 billion. The department however admitted of misreporting their numbers for $5.3 billion in spending on 163 out of its 265 programs.
Although the White House had not reported which programs it was directly responsible for, the audit by the GAO with the $619 billion missing, said that only 2 percent to 7 percent of the information is "fully consistent with agency records," reports USA Today.
CNN reports that The Department of the Interior did not audit the spending of its several programs since their accounting systems weren't compatible with the website.
The White House Office of National Drug Policy told auditors they thought the HHS was the main one responsible for the report on the $619 billion missing.
According to reports, the GAO hence called for the White House Office of Management and Budget to show more mistakes of the website.
OMB spokesman Jamal Brown said in the report, 'Until these weaknesses are addressed, any effort to use the data will be hampered by uncertainties about accuracy.'
He added, 'OMB is committed to federal spending transparency and working with agencies to improve the completeness and accuracy of data submissions.'
In the meantime, Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla. made comments regarding the $619 billion missing.
He said, 'The administration set a goal of 100 percent accuracy by the end of 2011. Three years later the federal government cannot even break a 10 percent accuracy rate.'
He added, 'This complete failure in spending transparency hurts our ability to assess the pros and cons of how Washington spends tax dollars.'
According to The Examiner, responsibility for the website's maintenance has since fallen into the hands of the Department of the Treasury.
$619 billion missing entire report can be found from the Government Accountability Office here.
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