The Department of Government Efficiency continues its aggressive efforts to eliminate waste, fraud, and corruption in government, revealing some troubling new numbers in a report released over the weekend.
In a series of announcements via its official website, DOGE has revealed significant discrepancies involving federal loans given to children during the height of the COVID-19 era.
The Small Business Administration (SBA) allegedly loaned over $312 million to nearly 5,600 borrowers under the age of 12.
These loans, which were part of the Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program, were granted between 2020 and 2021, a period when the world was facing widespread economic hardship due to COVID-19 shutdowns.
DOGE’s report raises serious concerns about the legitimacy of these loans. It also adds that many of the borrowers had Social Security numbers (SSNs) with incorrect names. The agency says that while business ownership by children is theoretically possible, these specific cases appear highly questionable.
“In 2020-2021, SBA granted 5,593 loans for $312M to borrowers whose only listed owner was 11 years old or younger at the time of the loan. While it is possible to have business arrangements where this is legal, that is highly unlikely for these 5,593 loans, as they all also used an SSN with the incorrect name,” DOGE posted.
Elon Musk, head of DOGE, reposted the stats from the new loan report, adding a raised eyebrow emoji.
The report revealed other questionable loans, including 3,095 payments totaling $333 million to people whose listed age was over 115, many of whom were allegedly marked as alive in the Social Security database. One loan recipient, with a listed age of 157, was allegedly awarded $36,000.
DOGE also cut several large government contracts that were deemed unnecessary. Among the most notable cuts was a $10.3 million contract with the Department of Agriculture, ironically created to identify wasteful contracts.
DOGE also recently canceled 162 contracts with a total ceiling value of $205 million, saving taxpayers $90 million, according the department.