With so much going on these days — on multiple fronts — it's difficult to keep up with it all. On Tuesday alone, there were multiple cabinet secretaries testifying before Congress, President Donald Trump made multiple appearances, commenting on everything from trade to FIFA, the Houthis cried "Uncle!", and India and Pakistan appear primed to bust out into an all-out war.
All of which is to say: I didn't have an opportunity to watch Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's testimony before the House Appropriations Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee oversight hearing live. But looking back over some of the key moments, one was particularly jaw-dropping:
According to Bessent, over one-third of the 1.5 billion payments issued by the Treasury Department in the past year cannot be traced back to a corresponding appropriation. That's 500 million payments (not dollars — individual disbursements) that cannot readily be matched for auditing or accountability purposes.
I'm Starting the Scott Bessent Appreciation Society — Who's With Me?
Watch this exchange between Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA) and Bessent:
.@SecScottBessent: "There was no accountability. That is why the 450 organizations that sit above Treasury, where Treasury acts as the paymaster, are unable to pass an audit. So, we have cracked down on that. Every payment now requires a TAS number." pic.twitter.com/4kq7wYzNY6
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 6, 2025
HINSON: Can you define for the committee today what an improper payment is, and some examples of what you're seeing — and why these procedures were not already in place before, Mr. Secretary?
BESSENT: Well...it's a bit mystifying why they weren't in place. And what we are seeing is that there was a very complacent upper level of management in many departments...across the entire government. What I can say at Treasury is that of the 1.5 billion payments...we send out every year, they are required to have something called a TAS — the Treasury Account Symbol. We discovered that more than one-third — one-third — of those payments did not have a TAS number. So, as the Appropriations Committee, you should be shocked by that because: How can a payment be tracked back to an appropriation? Only through the TAS number. So there was no accountability. So that is why the 450 organizations that sit above Treasury, where Treasury acts as the paymaster, are unable to pass an audit. So, we have cracked down on that. Every payment now requires a TAS number — very simple.
If you're like me, that has to leave you gobsmacked. Of course, we all knew that there was a lot of waste and inefficiency in the federal government. But the idea that 500 million disbursements per year had no way to be properly tracked or accounted for is beyond mindboggling.
Of course we're drowning in debt: We've got elected representatives who spend like drunken sailors — enabled by a Treasury Department intent on shoveling money out the door willy-nilly. Thank God President Trump and DOGE and grown-ups like Sec. Bessent are at least attempting to bring some order and accountability to bear.
Editor's Note: DOGE is finding billions of dollars in wasteful spending, and the Democrats are losing their minds as they realize their gravy train and woke projects are coming to an end.
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