The Government Accountability Office has released its list of government agencies at the highest risk for fraud and other costly abuses. While some agencies have been removed from the list due to improvements, many more areas for potential taxpayer abuse have been identified.
A New York Times editorial on the recent update to the GAO’s High Risk Program says that “the latest high-risk list presents 30 areas ripe for Congress and President Obama to take action.” These include the Interior Department’s management of oil and gas leases and royalties and several aspects of Medicare and Medicaid.
The GAO says that improvements in the key areas of vulnerability identified in the report “could lead to billions of dollars in savings for the federal government, dramatically improve service to the public, and strengthen confidence in the performance and accountability of the U.S. government at home and abroad.”