The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) failed to report billions of dollars in fiscal 2022 spending, as determined by the agency’s inspector general, leading to criticism from GOP lawmakers.
The initial reporting to USAspending.gov was found to be incomplete and inaccurate due to the agency’s failure to follow information technology configuration management procedures.
The watchdog’s report revealed significant underreporting of award-level obligations and outlays, as well as the failure to report certain types of spending. (Trending: Hunter Biden’s Art Scheme Exposed By GOP Probe)
“Consequently, necessary changes to the OCFO’s DATA Act Evaluation and Approval Repository, the system that facilitates the Agency’s USAspending.gov reporting, were either unimplemented or incorrectly implemented, and these issues were not identified via configuration audits,” the report read.
“Additionally, the OCFO lacked procedures to detect errors and to confirm the completeness and accuracy of the data that it reported to USAspending.gov.”
“The lack of complete and accurate reporting also led to taxpayers being initially misinformed about the EPA’s spending, and policy-makers who relied on the data may not have been able to effectively track federal spending,” the report added.
GOP lawmakers condemned the EPA’s inability to track its spending and called for more transparency.
“It’s outrageous and unacceptable that the EPA cannot keep track of its spending or inform Congress — and the American people — of how it is using taxpayer dollars. This eye-opening report only further highlights the need for more transparency at the EPA,” Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers said.
“It also raises questions about whether the agency is incapable of managing its record-high budget or if the agency is attempting to hide the amount of taxpayer dollars it is spending to advance the administration’s radical rush-to-green agenda,” she added.
“The Energy and Commerce Committee will continue holding this administration accountable for its actions that are driving up costs across the board and hurting Americans.”
“This jarring report is the clearest sign yet that the EPA is unable and unwilling to adequately serve the American people,” Rep. John Joyce said.
The EPA has agreed to recommendations for improving its reporting process following the audit.
“EPA welcomes and appreciates the Office of the Inspector General’s oversight and recommendations,” an EPA spokesperson stated.
“EPA properly accounted for FY 2022 funding, which is validated by [the inspector general’s fiscal] 2022 clean unmodified audit opinion of EPA’s financial statements. This was an issue transmitting data to USASpending.gov, which has been corrected.”
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