The US mistakenly sent US $ 1.4 billion for COVID-19 support to 1 million people who died
The Department of Finance and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) mistakenly sent US $ 1.4 billion, including nearly 1.1 million checks and cash payments, to US citizens who were not eligible for assistance.
The incident was discovered
through the federal government's COVID-19 (CARES
Act) bailout expense test report, conducted by the federal government
in March and April by the Office of Government Accountability (GAO).
To date, the IRS has made
more than 160 payments worth nearly $ 270 billion to those who need Covid-19.
Gao said the $ 1.4 billion
expenditures were mistakenly sent when the Ministry of Finance and the IRS
urgently disbursed about $ 160 million of the $ 269 billion approved in March.
Partly due to the fact that
the IRS has access to a comprehensive list of death notices from social
security agencies, the Ministry of Finance and the Department of Financial
Services of this ministry are also in charge of money transfers, without access
to that list.
In the early days when the
IRS was busy preparing to send millions of payments, the tax bureau ignored the
established protocols, refused to use death records and did not communicate
clearly with the Ministry of Finance.
The IRS did not use death
records maintained by the US Social Security Administration for the first three
relief payments. This payment accounts for 72% of the amount distributed
so far.
In 2013, the IRS developed
a process that required the use of death records to prevent improper payments
to the dead, but ignored those controls on the Covid-19 relief package.
Initially, the IRS was not
clear whether the law would allow them to deny relief payments to the
dead. At the same time, the Ministry of Finance "did not detect
payments that could be transferred to the deceased," according to the GAO
report.
Only after the Ministry of
Finance discovered that a $ 1.4 billion payment was sent to more than 1 million
people had died, did the IRS and its legal counsel make a decision on who had
lost by the time the payment was made. Currently not eligible for support
packages.
An NPR investigation in May
found that US citizens who died in January 2018 received payment checks from
the IRS.
The bipartisan lawmakers
group asked for answers from the Treasury Department and the IRS about how many
Americans died receiving payments and steps the government would take to
recover the money.
"While it is important to conduct quick relief, the mistaken payments to the deceased are a huge waste to the government and burden those who receive this invalid money."
lawmakers say.
The Ministry of Finance
also said that payments made to those who lost before receiving the COVID-19
relief payment should be returned to the government. Currently, the IRS
has also published instructions for refunding payments on the official website.
In its report, the Office
of Government Accountability said the IRS should consider proactively informing
those who are not eligible to receive assistance on ways to repay the invalid
payments they received.
The GAO also proposed that
the National Assembly should allow the Ministry of Finance to have access to
the social security authorities' comprehensive list of death lists and request
the Ministry of Finance to regularly use the list to minimize these payments.
Support payment is not appropriate.
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