Agencies Sitting on $70B in Unspent Funds, Report Finds

A congressional report outlines $70 billion of unspent federal dollars that could have helped disaster victims, spurred highway construction and funded education programs.

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), who released the report today, said the languishing funds are due to "poorly drafted laws, bureaucratic obstacles and mismanagement, and a general lack of interest or demand from the communities to which this money was allocated," according to a release.

Lack of congressional oversight in spending only leads to more unneeded, wasteful spending, Coburn said.

"The exception to the proverb 'a penny saved is a penny earned' is the federal government, where an unspent dollar represents lost opportunities to reduce the debt or to assist an individual, a family, or a community. Nearly every challenge we face conjures up the same response from Washington: spend more money," Coburn said.

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