IG Report: 44 Lax Judges Wrongfully Awarded $2 Billion in Disability Checks

A forthcoming inspector general’s report reveals lax judges wrongfully doled out disability checks that cost U.S. taxpayers $2 billion, and a projected $300 million more next year. 

The Social Security Administration report says the agency’s lackluster oversight of judges who green light unusually high numbers of applicants seeking taxpayer-funded disability benefits is partly to blame.

“In failing to take meaningful disciplinary action at the Social Security Administration, even after the most egregious cases of mismanagement, taxpayers are left to wonder who is looking after their tax dollars,” said Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA).

The report honed in on 44 judges over seven years who awarded excessively high numbers of disability benefits and who lacked a “well-supported rationale” for their judgment. The judges account for four percent of the administrative law judges that make such determinations, reports The Hill.

The Social Security Disability Insurance trust fund is projected to run out of reserves in 2016.

According to National Public Radio (NPR), “Every month, 14 million people now get a disability check from the government.”