Replies

Rest of the article:

And these summaries are just a sample of nearly a dozen departments plagued with financial problems. Eleven of the 24 major federal agencies and departments have financial-management problems, and of those 11 none received a grade higher than D-plus from Rep. Steve Horn (R-Calif), chairman of the House Government Reform subcommittee on Government Efficiency, Financial Management and Intergovernmental Relations. For years he has reported on the state of federal management in an annual report card.
       Despite the inability of the federal bureaucrats properly to account for their funds, their budgets remain the same or have been increased. For fiscal 2002 the president requested increases for both the DOD and the Department of Education. The total amount requested for the 11 departments and agencies unable properly to account for their money comes to nearly $1.4 trillion — some 86 percent of the total fiscal 2002 budget request of $1.9 trillion. Already this figure has been augmented in light of recent events with the supplemental $40 billion for use in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks.
       No one is sure just how much of that $40 billion will be used by the DOD, but how it is used is important. John Schofield, communications director for the House Appropriations Committee, tells Insight: “We’re always monitoring agencies, regardless of the crisis. But there’s a broad consensus that the president needed some authority and flexibility to do some things immediately.”
       Brenna Hapes, House Budget Committee communications director, agrees. “We’re not sure yet where to expect budget increases, but we’re always looking for ways to ensure that the money given to agencies is spent wisely and appropriately. As for the $40 billion request, oversight hasn’t been our focus in the last week-and-a-half. We need to balance and make sure that we have what we need for however long it takes.” But, concludes Hapes, “we don’t want it to be carte blanche either. Congress is going to retain the authority to monitor how the money is spent, and that was a lot of the discussion surrounding the supplemental.”
       Thomas Stanton, an attorney and academic at the Johns Hopkins Center for the Study of American Government, is upbeat about how the federal government will pull it together. “This country is pretty good in a crisis and there’s good reason to get the [financial-tracking] systems working well, and I’m optimistic. Our problem has been that we didn’t have a demand for results and some agencies have done their own thing. I think a possible next step is an oversight committee that says, ‘We’re gonna give you tough love. We’re gonna work with you and move you until you’re a capable agency.’ It just can’t be a case of firing a shot over the bow and everything is going to be all right.”
       “Tough love” in the form of financial accountability may be one outcome of the crisis that began Sept. 11. Congress has acted to ensure the president has at his grasp all the resources necessary to do what is needed. Now, more than ever, it is necessary that the federal government be held accountable for responding responsibly.
Kelly Patricia O’Meara is an investigative reporter at Insight.

How Big Is the Government's Debt? - $33.1 TRILLION!

How Big Is the Government's Debt?
"When these obligations are combined with the debt held by the public, the total burden equals $33.1 trillion, or 10 times the official debt measure. This "total debt" is more than three times the size of the nation's total output in 2001, and amounts to $116,381 for every man, woman and child in America."

"With the decline of society begins, indeed, the bellum omnium in omnia war of all against all, which some philosophers observing to be so general in this world, have mistaken it for the natural, instead of the abusive state of man. And the fore horse of this frightful team is public debt. Taxation follows that, and in its train wretchedness and oppression."
Thomas Jefferson to Samuel Kercheval, 1816. ME 15:40

Return of the 'Audits From Hell'

Former Critics of IRS in Congress Now Clamor for Tough Enforcement
Sen. Charles Grassley, Chairman, Senate Finance Committee:

Oct. 1, 1997:

"The management culture at the IRS has led to institutional arrogance and abuse of taxpayers. Substantial changes must be made to eliminate the 'we-versus-them' mentality at the agency."

March 25, 2002:

"I'm amazed at the creativity of those who like being Americans but dislike their American tax obligation. Since tax cheats are endlessly creative, the IRS has to be just as creative to catch the crooks."

7 Years Of Hell At Hands Of IRS

Which Is Worse: WorldCom or Congress?

America's Biggest Crook - Uncle Sam

U.S. Govt. Is Unrivaled Champion At Cooking The Books

Uncle Sam's Audit Gap

Government Fails Fiscal-Fitness Test