The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) revealed on Monday that it has discovered approximately $4.7 trillion in US Treasury payments lacking a critical tracking code, making it “almost impossible” to determine where these payments went.
According to the department’s report, the Treasury Account Symbol (TAS), which links the payments to specific budget line items, has been omitted from a staggering number of payments, leaving DOGE auditors with no hope of finding out how this money was spent. All federal government transactions use TAS codes for reporting to the Treasury and Office of Management and Budget.
“In the Federal Government, the TAS field was optional for ~$4.7 Trillion in payments and was often left blank, making traceability almost impossible,” the DOGE said in a social media post revealing the data.
In order to prevent future untraceable payments, the TAS is now no longer optional in Treasury records.
“As of Saturday, this is now a required field, increasing insight into where money is actually going,” the DOGE continued, thanking the Trump administration’s Treasury officials for assisting in this effort.
The Treasury Access Symbol (TAS) is an identification code linking a Treasury payment to a budget line item (standard financial process).
In the Federal Government, the TAS field was optional for ~$4.7 Trillion in payments and was often left blank, making traceability almost…
— Department of Government Efficiency (@DOGE) February 17, 2025
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This revelation has sparked public outcry and accusations of severe mismanagement and potential organized fraud, leading to heightened scrutiny and calls for accountability within federal financial processes.
“Major improvement in Treasury payment integrity going live!” DOGE chief Elon Musk wrote on X, crediting the department, the Treasury, and the Federal Reserve.
Major improvement in Treasury payment integrity going live!
This was a combined effort of @DOGE, @USTreasury and @FederalReserve. Nice work by all. https://t.co/dpLmXRpufT
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 17, 2025
DOGE’s efforts aim to reduce waste and fraud, and the US Treasury was among the first agencies to be reviewed by the department after President Donald Trump’s inauguration last month. Since then, DOGE staffers have been reviewing sensitive payment documents to identify inefficiencies.
The department’s latest suggestion has encouraged the Treasury to “delete paper checks,” which reports say would save taxpayers “at least $750 million per year” given the cost of maintaining “a physical lockbox” for all collected checks.
Connor Walcott is the lead writer for Valuetainment.com. Follow Connor on X and look for him on VT’s “The Unusual Suspects.”
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