Letter to the Hon. Nancy Berryhill, Acting Commissioner of the Social Security Administration (SSA) - "Social Security Administration Waste Costs Arkansans, Americans $20 billion'

Letter

Dear Commissioner Berryhill:

I write to inform you that the Social Security Administration (SSA) is being awarded this month's Golden Fleece Award for overpaying Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) beneficiaries and for permanently waiving overpayment debt.

According to a 2016 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report to Congress, SSA overpaid beneficiaries almost $20 billion and permanently waived over $2.4 billion in overpayment debt between fiscal years 2005 and 2014.[1] The United States is currently more than $20 trillion in debt, and our government agencies must be cognizant of this while spending taxpayer dollars.

In their most recent annual report to Congress, GAO reported that this area of concern has not yet been addressed by SSA, stating "To help prevent the loss of billions of dollars, SSA should take steps to prevent overpayments to beneficiaries of the Disability Insurance program and improper waivers of beneficiaries' overpayment of debt."[2]

I request that you provide responses to the following questions:

How much money did SSA overpay to SSDI beneficiaries from FY2014 to the present?

2. Has SSA permanently waived overpayment debt since FY2014, and, if so, what is the total of the overpayment debt that has been permanently waived?

3. What steps has SSA taken since the 2016 GAO report to address this issue?

Our federal agencies must be good stewards of our federal tax dollars, and I am committed to ensuring effective practices at our nation's federal agencies. Should you require any additional authority from Congress to address these concerns, I urge you to notify Congress as soon as possible. I thank you for your consideration and look forward to working with you to address this important issue.

Sincerely,

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