WASHINGTON (TNND) — The U.S. Treasury Department is under intense scrutiny following revelations of $4.7 trillion in untraced payments, according to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The report has prompted Republican senators to propose legislation aimed at holding the agency accountable.

The Treasury Access Symbol (TAS) is an identification code linking a Treasury payment to a budget line item (standard financial process). In the Federal Government, the TAS field was optional for ~$4.7 Trillion in payments and was often left blank, making traceability almost impossible. As of Saturday, this is now a required field, increasing insight into where money is actually going. Thanks to @USTreasury for the great work," DOGE posted on X.

The proposed legislation, known as the Locating Every Disbursement in Government Expenditure Records Act, or the LEDGER Act, would require the Treasury to track all payments. Senators Rick Scott (R-Fla.) and Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) are spearheading the proposal.

“Washington’s dysfunction was at an all-time high before President Trump took office this January. Over the past few years, we’ve seen a massive expansion of government, spending trillions of tax dollars with reckless abandon and nearly zero accountability or consideration of Americans’ best interests, adding $8 trillion to the now $36 trillion federal debt and running a $2 trillion deficit. The federal government hadn’t completed a comprehensive review since before the World Wide Web existed when the federal budget was under $1 trillion. That’s changing as President Trump, Treasury Secretary Bessent, DOGE, and the entire administration work to streamline government and crack down on wasteful spending. Like many Americans, I was outraged by DOGE’s findings that the U.S. Treasury made $4.7 trillion in payments that were completely unmarked, unlabeled and therefore, untraceable and unaccountable to the American people. My bill, the LEDGER Act, fixes that by requiring Treasury to track every payment made using Americans’ tax dollars. There’s not a single family or business in America that operates this way – we look at our bank accounts and credit card statements to make sure we know where our money is going and stay on budget. I brought the same common sense of every American family and business as Governor of Florida to get spending under control and balance the budget, and we can do the same on the federal level to save the American dream and support the great work of President Trump, Secretary Bessent and DOGE," Scott said in a press release.

"Our national debt has ballooned to over $36 trillion. Just last year, we spent more than $1 trillion on interest payments, and both figures continue to grow because of unbelievable waste, fraud, and abuse in our government. The latest revelation that $4.7 trillion in Treasury payments were missing important traceability codes is disgraceful. The American people deserve answers and accountability, and this only reinforces why the work of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is so critical to getting America’s financial house back in order. I am proud to stand alongside Senator Scott to make these traceability codes mandatory in order to enhance payment integrity," Marshall said.

The unaccounted $4.7 trillion represents approximately 70% of the government's total spending of $6.8 trillion in fiscal year 2024.

DOGE's Next Steps

Meanwhile, Elon Musk, who leads the Department of Government Efficiency, has announced plans to cut a total of $1 trillion in federal costs within two months. According to a Reuters report, Musk claims these cuts can be achieved without affecting services. The DOGE website reports savings of $140 billion as of March 30, 2025, equating to around $870 per taxpayer, through various measures including asset sales and fraud elimination.

However, budget experts express skepticism about Musk's ability to reach his target without impacting entitlement programs like Social Security, which former President Trump has vowed not to cut. Musk, a special government employee, is limited to working 130 days and may cease leading DOGE by the end of May. The President's executive order states that DOGE will terminate on July 4, 2026.