The government’s watchdog group Open The Books (OTB) has released its latest survey entitled “Mapping Government Growth: Cases of Reduction.”
Several items from the OTB give taxpayers an unprecedented view of federal bureaucracy and examine the need for the DOGE committee.
Over the years, OTB has built a thorough map of federal agencies, detailing the personnel, spending and activities of nearly 60 agencies to lesser-known US administrative meetings from the Department of Justice and Homeland Security.
OTB’s investigations found that spending measures at many institutions increased by more than 2,000%.
USAID: Principals have increased by 218% since 2000, but spending has risen by 467%, funding projects like Colombia’s Transgender Opera and DEI Initiative.
Health and Human Services (HHS): The Refugee Resettlement Office has spent $22.6 billion on immigration aid since 2020, including mortgages, business grants and credit repairs.
Education Division: Staff has declined by 13.9% since 2000, but spending has skyrocketed by 749%, even as student performance declines.
FEMA personnel were 290% higher than 2000 and 2024, spending swelled more than seven times faster, at 2,096% of previous spending levels.
FEMA has been a target for the past few months, primarily due to the disaster response efficiency of the Disaster Relief Fund. And to spend a lot of money on accommodating immigrants in hotels. Several GOP governors, like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, said FEMA should be abolished and the state should leave to deal with it.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has grown its workforce by 21.5% since 2000, spending has increased by 301%, and billions of grants are distributed each year.
Broken Recordkeeping and outdated agents:
Opening the book’s audit reveals that the federal register lists at least 75 repeal or outdated agencies, emphasizing that outdated recordkeeping obscures accountability. Americans face important challenges in understanding their government composition and costs.
