The U.S. Department of Agriculture improperly spent $6.7 billion in 2019, according to the Government Accountability Office's annual report to Congress on improper federal spending. That's more than last year, but still a small part of the $175 billion in improper spending the GAO identified across the government, Ryan McCrimmon reports for Politico's Morning Agriculture.
The largest share of improper payments, more than $4 billion, went to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps. School meals added just over $1.5 billion to the total. Improper payouts and funding for crop insurance programs made up about $1 billion more.
USDA improperly paid about $42.5 million in crop-disaster assistance, GAO said. Though the total amount was low compared to other improper expenditures, crop-disaster assistance had the highest rate of improper payments as a percentage of a program's total outlay, McCrimmon reports.
The largest share of improper payments, more than $4 billion, went to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps. School meals added just over $1.5 billion to the total. Improper payouts and funding for crop insurance programs made up about $1 billion more.
USDA improperly paid about $42.5 million in crop-disaster assistance, GAO said. Though the total amount was low compared to other improper expenditures, crop-disaster assistance had the highest rate of improper payments as a percentage of a program's total outlay, McCrimmon reports.
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