In this Wednesday, June 18, 2014, photo, job seekers attend a job fair held by Sheetz to staff their under-construction distribution center in Burlington, N.C.
Programs most subject to improper federal payments in 2013.WASHINGTON – Tax credits for families that don’t qualify. Medicare payments for treatments that might not be necessary. Unemployment benefits for people who are secretly working. Federal agencies reported making $100 billion in payments last year to people who may not have been entitled to receive them.
Congressional investigators say the figure could be even higher.
“The amounts here are absolutely staggering,” said Rep. John Mica, R-Fla. “It’s over $100 billion each of the last five years. That’s a staggering half a trillion dollars in improper payments.”
Mica chairs the House Oversight government operations subcommittee, which held a hearing on improper payments Wednesday.
Each year, federal agencies are required to estimate the amount of improper payments they issue. They include overpayments, underpayments, payments to the wrong recipient and payments that were made without proper documentation.