The Internal Revenue Service is unable to account for $67 million in
spending related to the implementation of ObamaCare, according to an IRS
watchdog report released Wednesday.
The report by the Treasury
Inspector General for Tax Administration said the money was part of a
$488 million fund established to cover implementation costs between 2010
through 2012.
The $67 million in unaccounted-for spending was
associated with "indirect" implementation costs, which can include
providing employees with workspace and information technology support.
The report recommended the IRS improve its record-keeping for direct labor charges associated with implementing ObamaCare.
"TIGTA
found that costs charged to [the Health Insurance Reform Implementation
Fund] funding related to direct labor were sometimes inaccurate and not
always substantiated by reliable supporting documentation," the report
states.
The report concluded that the IRS "lacks complete information regarding the full cost of [Affordable Care Act] implementation."
"This
lack of complete information on ACA implementation costs limits the
IRS’s ability to accurately report to stakeholders the total resources
it applied to the ACA implementation and fully estimate the resources
needed in the future for this effort," the report states.
The
report comes as the Senate considers a controversial bill that would
both avert a government shutdown while defunding ObamaCare, after Sen.
Ted Cruz, R-Texas, delivered a marathon 21-hour speech in a bid to push
fellow Republican lawmakers into showdown to unravel the law.
Legislation
passed by the Republican-controlled House last week would cancel all
funds for the three-year-old law, preventing its full implementation.
But Senate Democrats have enough votes to restore the funds, and
Majority Leader Harry Reid labeled Cruz's turn in the spotlight "a big
waste of time."
Any differences between the two houses'
legislation must be reconciled and the bill signed into law by next
Tuesday to avert a partial shutdown.