Biden-Era Improper Payments Total $925 Billion as Legislators Silence Critics

State Legislator Deletes Constituent’s Social Media Comments

Start listening at 17:13 – Hour 1 Teacher and political candidate Priscilla Rahn shared her experience after Colorado State Representative Regina English deleted her Facebook comments and sent her a private warning for expressing disagreement about government transparency and DOGE.

“What Regina is actually doing as an elected official is supporting the erosion of free speech.”

Priscilla Rahn

Rahn had simply responded to English’s post about Congresswoman Crockett’s criticism of DOGE by noting that voters wanted accountability and transparency in government, as well as protection of TABOR.

“If she’s going to engage in this experiment of democracy, then representatives are going to have to engage with ideas so we the people can govern ourselves.”

Priscilla Rahn

When Rahn questioned whether deleting constituent comments was legal, English reportedly told her to go ahead and report her. Rahn noted the incident highlighted a broader pattern of officials refusing to engage with opposing viewpoints.

“I almost feel like she’s saying, how dare you? You can go talk about it in your silo, but don’t come to my public Facebook page and present an opposing view.”

Priscilla Rahn

$925 Billion in Improper Payments Under Biden

Start listening at 72:29 – Hour 2 Rachel O’Brien, Deputy Public Policy Director at Open the Books, appeared to discuss the organization’s latest findings on government waste. The nonprofit’s research has been walking alongside DOGE’s transparency efforts.

“It’s our money. It’s our taxpayer money.”

Rachel O’Brien

O’Brien defended Americans’ right to see how government spends tax dollars, pushing back against critics who claim only government officials should have access to Treasury payment systems.

“These funds belong to we, the people, not any branch of government, and certainly not an unelected administrative state.”

Rachel O’Brien

The headline figure came from Open the Books’ analysis of self-reported improper payments across federal agencies.

“During the Biden administration, he totaled $925 billion made in improper payments.”

Rachel O’Brien

O’Brien explained these are payments made to the wrong person, in the wrong amount, or for the wrong reason. Medicaid and Medicare alone accounted for $87 billion in improper payments last year.

She noted that USAID has reported zero improper payments for the past two fiscal years despite being found 30 times since 2020 to be susceptible to significant improper payments.

President’s Day Reflections on Integrity

Start listening at 64:46 – Hour 2 Roger Mangan, who taught history before his insurance career, reflected on the meaning of President’s Day and the legacy of Washington and Lincoln.

“We’ve been given a republic, the question is, like Franklin says, let’s see if we can keep it. It’s a constant battle.”

Roger Mangan

“When you think about the integrity they brought to the office, being honest and having strong moral principles and refusing to let personal avarice or personal gain take over and not put the country first, they were shining examples of that.”

Roger Mangan

Kim expanded on the theme, discussing how Washington founded the nation, Lincoln preserved it through civil war, Reagan fought to restore limited government, and the current moment represents what she called “the third founding” of America.

Looking Ahead

Kim encouraged listeners to contact Representative English about constituent engagement and to visit OpenTheBooks.com to track government spending. She also noted the Center for American Values continues its work honoring Medal of Honor recipients at AmericanValuesCenter.org.