The article argues that recent executive overreach and politicization have severely undermined established norms of U.S. civil-military relations. To restore professional standards, the incoming Congress must actively exercise its oversight powers, moving beyond mere criticism to demanding transparency in defense policy and personnel decisions. Key reforms include enforcing meritocratic promotion processes, requiring documented justification for senior officer removals, and preventing the partisan use of the military. These actions are crucial for bolstering public trust and ensuring the military remains a nonpartisan instrument of civilian control.
Treasury Prevents $99 Million to Deceased Recipients Through Do Not Pay
English Summary
The Do Not Pay (DNP) system is a highly effective federal safeguard that prevents improper payments by screening applications against fraud databases before funds are disbursed, saving taxpayers billions in waste and abuse. Evidence shows DNP's strong ROI; for instance, it recently blocked $99 million to deceased recipients and prevented over $11 billion in potential improper payments in FY 2025. However, the system is currently underutilized (used by only 4% of eligible programs), leaving massive gaps in federal spending integrity. To maximize its impact—and address far larger sources of error like financial data or employment status—Congress must pass legislation to grant DNP access to restricted databases, such as IRS tax returns. Expanding DNP through law will shift the government from costly 'pay and chase' recovery efforts to proactive prevention.
中文摘要
「不支付」（Do Not Pay, DNP）系統是一項高效的聯邦保障機制，它能在撥款前透過比對欺詐資料庫來預防錯誤付款，從而為納稅人節省數十億美元的浪費和濫用損失。證據顯示DNP具有強勁的投資回報率（ROI）；例如，它近期成功攔截了給已故受領者的9,900萬美元，並預防了2025財政年度超過110億美元潛在的不當支付。然而，該系統目前仍利用不足（僅有4%的合格計畫使用），導致聯邦支出完整性存在巨大漏洞。 為最大化其影響力——並解決更廣泛的錯誤來源，例如財務資料或就業狀態——國會必須通過立法，賦予DNP權限存取受限制的資料庫，例如美國國稅局（IRS）的報稅紀錄。透過法律擴展DNP，將能使政府從成本高昂的「事後追討」模式轉向主動預防。
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