The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), working with the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve, has revealed that around $4.7 trillion in U.S. Treasury payments were issued without critical coding, making the transactions ‘almost impossible’ to trace, the New York Post reports. This alarming discovery has sparked concerns about the transparency and accountability of federal finances, which is why the DOGE has undertaken this effort for the sake of American taxpayers in the first place.
According to The Post, “the transactions were reportedly missing the Treasury Account Symbol, or TAS, an identification code which links a Treasury payment to a budget line item, according to DOGE, which described the use of such code as a ‘standard financial process.’”
The absence of critical payment codes raises questions about oversight within the Treasury Department and other agencies responsible for managing federal funds. Critics argue that such lapses raise concerns that opportunities were created for misuse or mismanagement of public resources. With a thorough investigation into how this oversight occurred, the Treasury Department will work to identify the steps that can be taken to prevent the issue in the future.
In the wake of the discovery, the DOGE announced that the use of the TAS code will now be mandatory.
“As of Saturday, this is now a required field, increasing insight into where money is actually going,” DOGE said, thanking the Treasury Department for its “great work” implementing the change,” The Post reports.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has been vocal about the need for change in the department, suggesting one such change should be “deleting paper checks,” which he said “would save taxpayers ‘at least $750 million per year,’” according to The Post.
The discovery of $4.7 trillion in untraceable payments serves as a reminder as to why the DOGE has been employed to seek out financial fraud and abuse. In its effort to root out waste, the DOGE is exposing the massive misuse of government funds that have been hindering Americans taxpayers and the nation’s finances. Despite Elon Musk repeatedly clarifying the role of the DOGE, some Americans are criticizing him and the department as they uncover waste, fraud and abuse while holding those doing so accountable for the actions they have gotten away with for way too long.
I would be cautious about eliminating paper checks. If it is all digital it is vulnerable. Some of us would rather not have to depend on a bank for our money. As it stands many seniors go to the bank each month to draw out their money so they have more control over their money.
Paper should be a traceable option linked by another code to the recipient’s account.
There should be a starting time at which the critical coding was omitted from transactions. Reverse engineering is definitely a possibility here.
Absolutely. Then consider communications sent that explain the who and why.