Pin It
capitalbuilding2 120Tuesday, US COngressmanTom Reed announced the upcoming introduction of legislation which would help improve the integrity of government data and help prevent fraud, waste and abuse.  The Standard Data Act would establish consistent requirements for data formatting and content used by a number of key human services programs throughout the Federal Government.

Recently, the United States Inspector General issued a report that indicated roughly 6.5 million Social Security Numbers issued before 1903, were still active. Those Social Security Numbers belong to people who would be over 112 years old. According to the Gerontology Research Group, there are only 48 people above the age of 112, globally; 14 of which reside in the United States.

"Obviously, there are not 6.5 million people in the US over the age of 112.  In fact, there are only 14," said Reed. "It's not fair to see hardworking  taxpayer's hard earned money go down the drain because of lax government record keeping,  especially when it opens the door to fraud and abuse. Hardworking taxpayers deserve better, and should know that I care about their money and that they are getting fair value in return."

"The Internal Revenue Service, Department of Defense, Office of Personnel Management, Department of Veteran Affairs, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and other federal agencies distribute billions in federal benefits every year. All of these agencies check SSA data to ensure the Social Security Numbers (SSNs) being used to claim benefits actually belong to living individuals. When there are gaps in this data, scammers can use the SSNs of dead individuals to fraudulently obtain government benefits," according to the recent IG report.

Beyond, standardizing data entry, The Standard Data Act is the beginning of a longer reform process to enable data both within and across Federal programs to flow more efficiently.  Programs that would fall under this bill include, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, child care, child support enforcement, foster care and adoption, Supplemental Security Income, and unemployment insurance.

In 2012, Reed began an initiative to spotlight taxpayer dollars being frittered away by federal agencies. The program has highlighted more than $14,796,159,198 in waste thus far.

v11i19
Pin It