The controversial “Obamaphone” program, which pays for cellphones for the poor, is rife with fraud, according to a new government report released Thursday that found more than a third of enrollees may not even be qualified.
Known officially as the Lifeline Program, the phone giveaway became a symbol of government waste in the previous administration. Now a new report from the Government Accountability Office bears out those concerns.
The report, requested by Sen. Claire McCaskill, Missouri Democrat, also says the program has stashed some $9 billion in assets in private bank accounts rather than with the federal treasury, further increasing risks and depriving taxpayers of the full benefit of that money.
“A complete lack of oversight is causing this program to fail the American taxpayer — everything that could go wrong is going wrong,” said Mrs. McCaskill, ranking Democrat on the Senate’s chief oversight committee and who is a former state auditor in Missouri.
“We’re currently letting phone companies cash a government check every month with little more than the honor system to hold them accountable, and that simply can’t continue,” she said.
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They were given the phones so government could track them...It was a crime prevention and tracking tool.
ReplyDeleteHis whole Presidency was!
ReplyDeleteYou must remember that obama was black , he had this program for the blacks , so what does that tell you. I call it black privilege
ReplyDeleteMust be up for re-election. She pushed it. She voted for it. The program was supposed to be for 911 calls for the elderly / handicap. Obama expanded it to smart phones so it could be used to contact employers for employment. That turned the program into normal phone usage for social media. All these phones should be cancelled except for 911 / medical / police calls. This service should be at the expense of the company issuing the phones. They certainly soak / cheat the average cell phone user. All this money should be paid back to the Federal government with interest and charged with fraud against the Federal government.
ReplyDeleteYou mean the fraud happened post-Obama's Admin taking over the program. In reality, the Obamaphone was done by Bush in 2004, but because the media reports nebulous garbage, most citizens don't understand this fact. Besides, who wants a Bushphone, that could be construed in many different ways and no all G-rated either.
ReplyDeleteOriginally it was for land lines, not cell phones.
DeleteI watched the "Obama Phone" van pull up once a month and people line up and get their free phones. A bunch of the people, especially the kids have two. Just another example of Democrats buying votes with our tax dollars. When it started, it was help job seekers. Then it opened up to just about anyone who stood in line.
ReplyDeleteGet Democrat Rep. Jamie Raskin (Md.) to clean up the messes.
ReplyDeleteMore whites qualified for obamaphones than black people.
ReplyDeleteYea right.
DeleteRebel see link: http://www.factcheck.org/2009/10/the-obama-phone/
ReplyDelete2008 Cellphone program for welfare recipients was introduced by George W. Bush; not Obama. He was president in 2008.
A fee is charged to each and every person who uses a cell phone and these dollars are what pays for the Obamaphones. Of course not all dollars are accounted for.
ReplyDeleteJust like our elections have been riddled with fraud.
ReplyDeleteOf course it's riddled with fraud when you have slimy gas stations on Lake Street managing the program and begging people to take an Obamaphone.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous said...
ReplyDeleteYou must remember that obama was black , he had this program for the blacks , so what does that tell you. I call it black privilege
July 1, 2017 at 9:47 AM
Racist... Psych..lol
Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteA fee is charged to each and every person who uses a cell phone and these dollars are what pays for the Obamaphones. Of course not all dollars are accounted for.
July 1, 2017 at 12:25 PM
Correct. Another example of nothing is free.
Has anyone noticed that most all Democrats are riddled with fraud and corruption. That they are lying, thieving crooks.
ReplyDelete10:01 AM...I agree. Funny how now the democrats are coming out of the woodwork and declaring fraud. They should have seen through this from the get go but were too blinded by the Obama charisma. Actually, truth be known, I think they did see through this but no one anticipated Hillary would not be the successor to the presidency and now the rats are jumping ship.
ReplyDeleteObama was black?
ReplyDelete