Free Republic

Barriers constructed along the U.S.-Mexico border during the Trump administration caused "significant damage and destruction" to the environment and cultural sites, the Government Accountability Office said... The watchdog's 72-page document says former President Donald Trump's efforts to deliver on a campaign promise — to construct more than 450 miles of border barrier panels along the southwest border to deter illegal crossings and activity — hampered the migration of endangered species, eroded federal lands, disrupted water flow and "irreparably" damaged sacred tribal sites. As they prepared to construct the wall in Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas, Trump administration officials waived...

Improper payments by the federal government are costing taxpayers billions of dollars a year — more than a trillion, if you add them up over the years, Comptroller General Gene Dodaro told the Senate Budget Committee on Wednesday. “These are payments that should not have been made or were made in the wrong amounts,” Dodaro said in his opening statement. The problem is growing, he said, from $125 billion in 2014; to $137 billion in 2015; to the most recent estimate of $144 billion in 2016. “This includes estimates for 112 programs at 22 federal agencies, so it is a...