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- Department of Agriculture
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- Department of Homeland Security
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- Small Business Administration
- Social Security Administration
- U.S. Agency for International Development
Agency Snapshot:
Department of Homeland Security The Department of Homeland Security leverages resources within Federal, state, local, territorial, and tribal governments, coordinating the transition of multiple agencies and programs into a single, integrated agency focused on protecting the American people and their homeland. The Department’s $83.2 billion in budgetary resources ensures the operation of the Transportation Security Administration, U.S. Coast Guard, Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Immigration Services, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and U.S. Secret Service. Like other agencies, it is committed to pursuing this important mission while managing its finances effectively, which includes ensuring its payments are accurate, using only property it needs, and accounting for its finances properly.
Reduce Improper Payments
The Administration is working with Federal and State partners, Congress, and other stakeholders to reduce government-wide improper payments without negatively impacting citizen access to needed programs. "Improper payments" occur when funds go to the wrong recipient, the recipient receives the incorrect amount of funds, documentation is not available to support a payment, or the recipient uses funds in an improper manner. The government must better ensure that taxpayer dollars are spent wisely and efficiently. The information here shows the current and target improper payment rates for the agency – or, if the agency does not have this information, the government-wide rate. You can learn more about our efforts to reduce improper payments at the newly launched PaymentAccuracy.gov. Additionally, if applicable, more detail is provided below on programs that an agency determines are susceptible to significant improper payments (specifically, improper payments greater than $10 million and over 2.5 percent of all annual payments made under that program, or improper payments over $100 million regardless of the improper payment rate).
| Program | Total Payments | Improper Payments | % Improper Payment Rate | % Improper Payment Target Rate 2011 | % Improper Payment Target Rate 2012 | % Improper Payment Target Rate 2013 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Homeland Security Grant Program | $1.5 B | $5.0 M | 0.3 | 0.34 | 0.34 | 0.34 |
| Public Assistance Programs | $3.5 B | $11.0 M | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| Disaster Relief Fund Vendor Payments | $582.0 M | $17.0 M | 2.9 | 2.04 | 1.5 | 0.97 |
| National Flood Insurance Program | $1.1 B | $13.0 M | 1.2 | 1.1 | 0.98 | 0.93 |
| Assistance to Firefighters | $385.0 M | $19.8 M | 5.1 | 4.32 | 3.5 | 2.5 |
| USCG Active Duty Military Payroll | $2.9 B | $4.0 M | 0.1 | 0.13 | 0.13 | 0.13 |
| Detention and Removal Operations | $1.3 B | $108.0 M | 8.3 | 7.95 | 4.09 | 1.97 |
| Individuals & Households Program | $679.0 M | $2.0 M | 0.3 | 0.28 | 0.28 | 0.28 |
| CBP Custodial Refund & Drawback | $1.2 B | $3.0 M | 0.3 | 0.17 | 0.15 | 0.15 |
| Federal Protective Service | $811.0 M | $27.0 M | 3.3 | 2.52 | 2.02 | 1.49 |
| Transit Security Grants Program | $109.0 M | $0.8 M | 0.7 | 0.09 | 0.09 | 0.09 |
| FEMA Emergency Food and Shelter Program | $201.0 M | $15.3 M | 7.6 | 5.02 | 3.98 | 3.51 |
Government-wide Recapture of Improper Payments
In addition to reducing payments made improperly, we must work to recapture any improper payments quickly. Under the Recovery Auditing Act (Section 831 of the 2002 Defense Authorization Act), agencies with more than $500 million in annual contract outlays were required to review their contract payments for improper payments. The Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act of 2010 expands these payment recapture audit activities further. Since fiscal year 2004, agencies have been reporting on their efforts to identify and recapture improper contract payments in their annual financial reports. This metric shows the total amount of improper contract payments recovered by all agencies in fiscal years 2009 and 2010, as well as our government-wide goal for recapturing improper payments in the future. While the Administration has set a government-wide target of recapturing at least $2 billion in improper contract outlays between fiscal year 2010 and fiscal year 2012, agency-specific targets have not yet been developed.
