US COVID Relief Funds Wrongly Paid to 11 Million Deceased Recipients... "Worth 1.7 Trillion Won"

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] On the 25th (local time), the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), the audit agency of the U.S. Congress, revealed that economic relief funds intended to mitigate the economic impact of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) were mistakenly paid to 1.1 million deceased individuals.

According to the Washington Post (WP) and others, the GAO stated in an approximately 400-page audit report released that day under the stimulus law that about $1.4 billion (approximately 1.7 trillion KRW) of COVID-19 relief funds provided during March and April were mistakenly paid to deceased persons. Previously, the U.S. government distributed $1,200 per adult as part of the stimulus package.

The GAO pointed out that this issue occurred because the Department of the Treasury failed to reflect the Social Security Administration (SSA)'s death records while distributing $269 billion in relief funds in cooperation with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) under the stimulus law passed by Congress in March. Although the IRS had death information, the Treasury Department, which allocated the funds, did not have access to it.

Additionally, the GAO found several problems in the operations of the Small Business Administration (SBA), which executed a $670 billion emergency loan program, and stated that contrary to the Department of Transportation's announcement, no plan had been established to support airlines. In particular, the GAO criticized that controls over the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which provides funds to maintain employment, were lax, making it vulnerable to fraud and other issues.

The GAO evaluated that while government agencies focused on moving quickly to respond to the crisis caused by COVID-19, shortcomings in accountability and transparency in policy implementation were exposed. The WP reported that although President Donald Trump is pushing for additional COVID-19 relief payments, this GAO report has increased the likelihood of growing opposition within the ruling Republican Party.

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