Lankford Releases Ninth Edition of Federal Fumbles

Report details billions in wasteful spending, fraud, and government inefficiencies while outlining solutions to restore accountability for taxpayers

WASHINGTON, DC - US Senator James Lankford (R-OK) released his ninth edition of Federal Fumbles today, revealing billions of dollars lost to wasteful spending, inefficiencies, fraud, and improper payments. The report details eyebrow-raising research grants, weak oversight of taxpayer funds sent overseas, systemic failures in food assistance programs, and the staggering cost of government shutdowns, while offering specific policy solutions to prevent these failures from continuing.

"It's Federal Fumbles season again. My ninth edition takes a hard look at the spending and inefficiencies that leave taxpayers wondering what Washington is doing with their money and why government is not serving them," said Lankford. "From research projects that raise eyebrows to dollars sent overseas with little oversight to fraud in food programs to shutdowns that cost billions, the pattern is the same. Too often, the federal government is not accountable to the people. Fumbles is about more than pointing out the problems - it lays out a playbook to fix them, like cracking down on COVID fraud, untangling a disaster relief system that runs through more than 30 agencies, stopping programs that waste money without results, and passing my Prevent Government Shutdowns Act so Washington's dysfunction does not come at the expense of Americans. It also highlights touchdowns like the Working Families Tax Cut Act, which included reforms like my Charitable Act and ALIGN Act to help families, small businesses, and farmers keep more of what they earn. Federal Fumbles is about transparency, accountability, and making sure taxpayers know someone is fighting for them."

You can watch the video HERE, and download itHERE.

This year's Top Five Federal Fumbles include:

• Nearly $150,000 spent studying how COVID and climate change affect herring in Alaska.
• $124,000 sent to a Chinese lab to conduct experiments on up to 300 beagles per week with little US oversight.
• A $250 million SNAP fraud scheme in Minnesota, part of broader food program abuse.
• A quarter-billion dollars in NIH-funded transgender experiments on mice, rats, and monkeys.
• And the costliest fumble of all: a government shutdown that lasted 43 days and cost taxpayers an estimated $74-$85 billion.

Playbook updates Lankford says Congress must make to prevent future waste and dysfunction:

• A US Fish and Wildlife Service program paying contractors $3,000 per barred owl to reduce the owl population, a plan that could exceed $1 billion over time and that Lankford argues should be left to the states, not Washington.
• Billions of dollars in fraud from COVID-era relief programs like Unemployment Insurance and SNAP that are still being uncovered years later. In response, Lankford introduced the Safeguarding the Transparency and Efficiency of Payments Act to require detailed improper payment reporting, the TRUE Accountability Act to force agencies to install fraud controls before the next emergency, and the Recover Fraudulent COVID Funds Act to extend the statute of limitations to 10 years so criminals can be prosecuted.
• A broken disaster relief system involving more than 30 federal agencies and entities, which Lankford previously illustrated with his "spaghetti map." He has since introduced six FEMA reform bills to streamline disaster recovery, improve transparency, and make it easier for families to get help after floods, fires, and tornadoes.
• Lankford's Prevent Government Shutdowns Act, aimed at ending shutdown brinkmanship after the most recent 43-day shutdown cost taxpayers up to $85 billion while federal workers and military families missed paychecks.

Click HERE to read the full report, and HERE for a printable version. You can also read the exclusive in Fox News HERE.

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