DOGE Findings

[Laodicean60]

'Savings' claims were off from the start

This true.

 

[DaisyDay]

What has DOGE done in Trump's first 100 days?​

'Savings' claims were off from the start​

There's little evidence to support the claim that DOGE is saving agencies significant money or changing the fact that the federal government spends more money than it collects — mainly on non-discretionary programs like Medicaid and Social Security. In fact, as of March 31, government spending is up 10% from the same period last year while revenue is only up 3%, leading to a 23% increase in the deficit, according to Treasury Department data.

Even after Musk's latest downward revision of DOGE's savings goal to $150 billion, that number is unlikely to be reached.

On its website, DOGE claims $160 billion has been saved through canceling contracts, firing workers and other measures. As NPR has reported, that tracker is plagued with inaccuracies, errors, omissions and overstatements.

As of late April, out of $160 billion in claimed savings, DOGE's "wall of receipts" has data to account to just $63 billion in purported claims.

The five contract cancellations with the most claimed savings, accounting for nearly $7.5 billion in the DOGE tracker, actually amount to just under $1 billion in potential savings. They include a contract that was never awarded, one that was already terminated and another that doesn't appear to be canceled at all, as DOGE continues to use misleading math.

I have a feeling that when all is said and done, this will have cost us a fortune, not just in lost functionality, but the analysis and repair just of the civil service section not to mention all the coming suits for cancelled contracts which will still need to be paid eventually.

 

[A2SG]

Who knew using a chainsaw to balance a budget would be so hard?

-- A2SG, and it seemed like such a good idea at the time....

 

[essentialsaltes]

Republicans are telling the White House that DOGE cuts will not be permanent​

Conservatives have faced furious opposition from their constituents during town hall meetings in their districts

Congressional Republicans have said in private conversations that it would be a stretch to codify even a small part of the cuts put in place by Musk, according to The Washington Post.

Both the courts and Congress are refusing to legally protect the cuts pushed through by Musk, and the White House has few options to ensure the reductions have a lasting effect.

The White House suggested sending a small share of the DOGE cuts for congressional approval — $9.3 billion of cuts, primarily handling the removal of the foreign aid agency, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the remains of which have been folded into the State Department. Those cuts would also include cutbacks to funding for public broadcasting.​

 

[essentialsaltes]

Elon Musk’s DOGE Deletes Dozens of Claims of Cost-Cutting After Investigation Reveals They Are False​

Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency deleted over 30 different government contracts from its website’s “Wall of Receipts” this week after a New York Times investigation found them to still be active.

[separate from that...]

In late April, the Partnership for Public Service (PSP) found that from the $160 billion DOGE had claimed to save the federal government, some additional $130 billion would need to be spent. The nonpartisan research group came up with the sum by calculating the “costs associated with putting tens of thousands of federal employees on paid leave, re-hiring mistakenly fired workers and lost productivity,” reported CBS News at the time.

 

[essentialsaltes]

DOGE went looking for phone fraud at SSA — and found almost none​

The anti-fraud tool set up last month after weeks of changes to the agency’s telephone policies has slowed retirement claim processing by 25% and led to a "degradation of public service,” according to an internal May document obtained by Nextgov/FCW that examined potentially cutting the anti-fraud tool for phone claims.

Under the new policy, the agency found that only two benefit claims out of over 110,000 had a high probability of being fraudulent — and they aren’t guaranteed to be so.

[That's 0.0018%]

Aram Moghaddassi, a DOGE engineer, notably said during a March 27 interview on Fox News that 40% of phone calls made to SSA to change direct deposit information come from fraudsters.

The agency itself has said that, in actuality, 40% of direct deposit fraud at the agency is associated with phone calls, not that 40% of all calls regarding changes to bank information are made by fraudsters.

Musk repeated a similar claim that 40% of the agency’s calls were “fraudulent” during a speech in late March.

Vice President J.D. Vance has also repeated this talking point — following it by saying “DOGE has got a lot of work to do”

"Every one of DOGE’s so-called ‘mistakes’ is a backdoor cut to people’s benefits,” [senator Warren] said. “There’s nothing efficient about making it harder for people to access the checks they’ve earned and are owed.”

 

[essentialsaltes]

DOGE to cancel government contracts that help veterans, records show​

Records show the 875 contracts included support for medical and burial services, cancer programs and efforts to recruit doctors for critical vacancies

DOGE Developed Error-Prone AI Tool to “Munch” Veterans Affairs Contracts​

We obtained records showing how a Department of Government Efficiency staffer with no medical experience used artificial intelligence to identify which VA contracts to kill. “AI is absolutely the wrong tool for this,” one expert said.​

The engineer, working for the Department of Government Efficiency, quickly built an artificial intelligence tool to identify which services from private companies were not essential. He labeled those contracts “MUNCHABLE.”

The code, using outdated and inexpensive AI models, produced results with glaring mistakes. For instance, it hallucinated the size of contracts, frequently misreading them and inflating their value. It concluded more than a thousand were each worth $34 million, when in fact some were for as little as $35,000.

The DOGE AI tool flagged more than 2,000 contracts for “munching.” It’s unclear how many have been or are on track to be canceled — the Trump administration’s decisions on VA contracts have largely been a black box.

Congressional Democrats have been pressing VA leaders for specific details of what’s been canceled without success.

We identified at least two dozen on the DOGE list that have been canceled so far. Among the canceled contracts was one to maintain a gene sequencing device used to develop better cancer treatments. Another was for blood sample analysis in support of a VA research project. Another was to provide additional tools to measure and improve the care nurses provide.

ProPublica obtained the code and the contracts it flagged from a source and shared them with a half dozen AI and procurement experts. All said the script was flawed.

“I think that mistakes were made,” said [the programmer who wrote it, using the passive voice] Lavingia, who worked at DOGE for nearly two months. “I’m sure mistakes were made. Mistakes are always made. I would never recommend someone run my code and do what it says. It’s like that ‘Office’ episode where Steve Carell drives into the lake because Google Maps says drive into the lake. Do not drive into the lake.”

Once the “munching” script had selected a list of contracts, Lavingia said he would pass it off to others who would decide what to cancel and what to keep. No contracts, he said, were terminated “without human review.”

 

[essentialsaltes]

I hope DOGE takes a look at this wasteful spending, but it may be too late, as it looks like most of the work has already been done and no doubt billed and paid for.

The Trump Administration Is Spending $2 Million to Figure Out Whether DEI Causes Plane Crashes​

The president may be disappointed by the findings.

MSN version

 

[Hans Blaster]

I hope DOGE takes a look at this wasteful spending, but it may be too late, as it looks like most of the work has already been done and no doubt billed and paid for.

The Trump Administration Is Spending $2 Million to Figure Out Whether DEI Causes Plane Crashes​

The president may be disappointed by the findings.

MSN version

How many of these investigations of silly things do they have so far? There is the "causes of autism study". Then there was the reexamination of the death of Jeffery Epstein. Are we missing any?

 

[essentialsaltes]

How many of these investigations of silly things do they have so far? There is the "causes of autism study". Then there was the reexamination of the death of Jeffery Epstein. Are we missing any?

Did mustache-twirling Biden aides use the autopen in late night orgies of nefarious pardoning of low level drug offenders?

 

[Hans Blaster]

Did mustache-twirling Biden aides use the autopen in late night orgies of nefarious pardoning of low level drug offenders?

I thought that was a "House Oversight" gig. Does the WH have a crack team of summer interns on the job too?

 

[essentialsaltes]

I thought that was a "House Oversight" gig. Does the WH have a crack team of summer interns on the job too?

Trump orders an investigation into Biden and his alleged use of the autopen​

The announcement Wednesday directs the White House counsel and Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate whether anyone "conspired to deceive the public about Biden's mental state and unconstitutionally exercise the authorities and responsibilities of the President." It is an escalation of an issue that Trump and his allies have frequently raised, possibly paving the way for Republicans to argue that many of Biden’s actions as president were invalid.

 

[DaisyDay]

Trump orders an investigation into Biden and his alleged use of the autopen​

The announcement Wednesday directs the White House counsel and Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate whether anyone "conspired to deceive the public about Biden's mental state and unconstitutionally exercise the authorities and responsibilities of the President." It is an escalation of an issue that Trump and his allies have frequently raised, possibly paving the way for Republicans to argue that many of Biden’s actions as president were invalid.

Talk about waste, fraud and inefficiency!

 

[Hans Blaster]

Talk about waste, fraud and inefficiency!

Techinically, I think that would be corruption and abuse of office by both Trump and Bondi.

 

[BeyondET]

How many of these investigations of silly things do they have so far? There is the "causes of autism study".

I'm all for that, in 1980, 1 in 1000 children had autism. Today it's 1 in 44 children with autism, a 241% increase in 45 years.

 

[Hans Blaster]

I'm all for that, in 1980, 1 in 1000 children had autism. Today it's 1 in 44 children with autism, a 241% increase in 45 years.

Congratulations, you've discovered the improved diagnosis of autism.

 

[BeyondET]

Congratulations, you've discovered the improved diagnosis of autism.

Nah it's real life experience that tells me so. You don't need a study to see unless you blind yourself of such things. Which is most definitely the case with you because you think it's silly and joke the increased rate of autism among the population. Is there a heart in that chest?

You portray people as always having the same level of autism its just because of the improved detection that the numbers are through the roof. Your sick in the head if you believe that,

 

[Hans Blaster]

Nah it's real life experience that tells me so. You don't need a study to see unless you blind yourself of such things. Which is most definitely the case with you because you think it's silly and joke the increased illnesses.

Real life experience with what? You don't have experience diagnosing people with autism for decades, do you?

You portray people as always having the same level of autism its just because of the improved detection that the numbers are through the roof.

This is science, not "common sense". (2.5% is not "through the roof")

Your sick in the head if you believe that,

Step back. You have stepped too far.

 

[BeyondET]

Real life experience with what? You don't have experience diagnosing people with autism for decades, do you?


This is science, not "common sense". (2.5% is not "through the roof")

Step back. You have stepped too far.

I think you stepped to forward into a hole.

 

[Hans Blaster]

I think you stepped to forward into a hole.

I'm not the one calling someone "sick in the head".