Suppose that a typical American family that spends about $73,000 per year was budgeting for next year and realized it spent an increasing amount—$4,600 last year—by sending payments to the wrong people and in the wrong amount.
Sound budgeting would say that family should include “improper payments” in its budget. And assuming it doesn’t like wasting thousands of dollars a year, that family should identify its failures and make changes so it sends payments only to people it owes money—and doesn’t send more than it owes.
A set of bipartisan proposals introduced in Congress seeks to impose accountability on—and ultimately rein in—the federal government’s massive and rising improper payments.
The Improper Payments Transparency Act (HR 8342), introduced by Reps. Rudy Yakym, R-Ind.; Jack Bergman, R-Mich.; Jimmy Panetta, D-Calif.; and Scott Peters,…
