$1.3 trillion in federal spending unaccounted for, report finds
Despite calls for independent bodies to keep government accountable, the Sunlight Foundation’s most recent Clearspending report has found the federal
Jul 31, 2020929K Shares12.7M Views
Despite calls for independent bodies to keep government accountable, the Sunlight Foundation’smost recent Clearspending report has found the federal government misreported $1.3 trillion in 2010.
“As the results of Clearspending show, the U.S. continues to lack genuine accountability for government spending,” said Ellen Miller, co-founder and executive director of the Sunlight Foundation. “Spending accountability, data accuracy and independent review will help correct the vast misreporting.”
An Obama administration executive order in response to their earlier findings called for a board to enforce strong federal spending transparency, and the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act (DATA Act) was introduced in the U.S. House this summer to establish a similar independent tracking body. Neither plan has come to fruition yet.
“Although we’ve seen improvements in the past year, the truth is we cannot fully account for how the federal government spends about $1.3 trillion,” Miller continued. “That’s no negligible amount, especially when you compare it to the ‘Super Committee’s’ task of finding $1.5 trillion in deficit cuts.”
The data inaccuracies that caused the $1.3 trillion in misreported funds account for 94.5 percent of all the grant spending data reported in the fiscal year 2008 through 2010, showing only a one percent decrease from misreported funds in 2008.
Paolo Reyna
Reviewer
Paolo Reyna is a writer and storyteller with a wide range of interests. He graduated from New York University with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Media Studies.
Paolo enjoys writing about celebrity culture, gaming, visual arts, and events. He has a keen eye for trends in popular culture and an enthusiasm for exploring new ideas. Paolo's writing aims to inform and entertain while providing fresh perspectives on the topics that interest him most.
In his free time, he loves to travel, watch films, read books, and socialize with friends.
Latest Articles
Popular Articles