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GAO-24-107461 1 (2024-09-26)

handle is hein.gao/gaoqwx0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Why This Matters Key Takeaways Improper payments-those that should not have been made or were made in an incorrect amount, including overpayments and underpayments-are an area of persistent concern in the federal government. Since fiscal year 2003, cumulative executive agency improper payment estimates have totaled almost $2.7 trillion. In fiscal year 2023 alone, estimates of improper payments totaled almost $236 billion government-wide. While this total represented a decrease of about $11 billion from the prior fiscal year, certain federal agencies continue to report high estimated improper payment rates of 10 percent or more for certain programs. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the largest federally funded nutrition assistance program. In June 2024, USDA reported that an estimated 11.7 percent (or about $10.5 billion of $90.1 billion in outlays not including disaster benefits, such as emergency allotments from the pandemic) of SNAP benefits paid in fiscal year 2023 were improper. This was an increase from the prior year estimate of 11.5 percent (or about $8.8 billion of $76.0 billion in outlays not including disaster benefits, such as emergency allotments from the pandemic) as reported on PaymentAccuracy.gov. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress granted states the option to suspend certain quality control regulatory requirements, including those used to track and report improper payments. As a result, USDA had incomplete datasets for fiscal years 2020 and 2021 and was unable to estimate and report improper payment rates for SNAP for those years. House Report 117-389, which accompanied the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2023 (Pub. L. No. 117-328, div. 1, 136 Stat. 4459, 4913), includes a provision for GAO to provide quarterly and annual reports through fiscal year 2025 on its ongoing oversight of improper payments and recommendations for legislative action or technical opportunities to improve payment integrity. In this seventh quarterly report, we provide information on USDA's improper payment estimation process for SNAP and the guidance and assistance it provides to state agencies. In addition, we describe oversight that USDA and other entities provide related to states' efforts to reduce improper payments for SNAP. Developing and reporting improper payment estimates for SNAP involves a two-tiered process. In the first tier, state agencies review household eligibility determinations and benefit amounts to gather data on improper payments to provide to USDA. In the second tier, USDA's Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) reviews states' data to ensure that quality control regulatory requirements were met. Page 1 GAO-24-1 07461 Improper Payments Page 1 GAO-24-107461 Improper Payments

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