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An official of the Department of the Treasury told Congress members on Tuesday that a technology executive who works with the Government’s efficiency department, or Doge will have “read -only access” to the government’s payment system, emphasizing that he is committed to Safeguarding the system after Doge was granted access.
The official wrote a letter in response to legislators who were concerned that Doge’s access to the government’s payment system for the federal government could lead to security risks or payments lost by several programs, including Social Security and Medicare.
Legislators have also expressed concern that billionaire Elon Musk, who leads Doge, has too much power within the United States government and that he says on his social media platform X that Dege will close the payments to some organizations, such as A Lutheran beneficial organization.
The letter indicates that the ongoing review of the Treasury Systems “has not caused payments for obligations such as Social Security and Medicare to delay or redirect” and that the CEO of the cloud software group, Tom Krause, was working in Treasury As a “special government employee,” which means that the rules on ethics and financial dissemination are less strict than for other government employees.
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Elon Musk is seen in the United States Capitol after a meeting with Senator John Thune, RS.D., while he is in the hill to talk about the “Government Efficiency Department” of President -elect Donald Trump, Thursday, Thursday December 5, 2024. (Tom Williams / CQ-Roll Call, INC through Getty Images / Getty Images)
Krause is carrying out the review in coordination with career treasury officials, according to the letter.
“Currently, treasure staff members working with Tom Krause, a treasure employee, will have only reading access to the encoded data of the tax service payment systems to continue this operational efficiency evaluation,” says the letter. “This is similar to the type of access that the Treasury provides to the people who review the Treasury systems, such as auditors, and that follows the practices associated with the protection of the integrity of systems and commercial processes.”
“The treasure will continue its efforts to promote efficiency and effectiveness in its operations, and to prevent waste, fraud and abuse,” he adds.
Treasury payments are administered by their fiscal service office, which disburse almost 90% of all federal payments and performs more than 1.2 billion transactions per year.
The official said that the purpose of the review is to “maximize the integrity of payments for agencies and the public.”
“The treasure does not have a greater obligation than to administer the government’s finances in the name of the US people, and its payment system is essential for that process,” says the letter. “According to that mission, the treasure undertakes to safeguard the integrity and safety of the system, given the implications of any commitment or interruption for the economy of the United States.”
The United States Treasury building, photographed on Friday, July 16, 2021 in Washington, DC (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times through Getty Images / Getty Images)
While the Treasury official said that Doge has “read -only access” to payment systems, some Democrats are still skeptical.
“Some Republicans are trying to suggest that Musk only has ‘seeing access’ to the highly sensitive treasure payment system as if that were not acceptable,” said Senator Patty Murray, D-Wash, said in a statement.
“But, why should we believe that, particularly when it says exactly the opposite aloud and repeatedly so that everyone sees them?” Murray, vice president of the Senate Assignments Committee, added.
A group of unions and defenders has filed a lawsuit that tries to block the treasure to deliver access to payment systems to Doge.
“The scale of intrusion in the privacy of individuals is massive and unprecedented,” says the demand. “People who must share information with the federal government should not be forced to share information with Elon Musk or their ‘Dux’. And the Federal Law says they don’t have to do it.”
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The United States Treasury Department building is seen in Washington, DC, January 19, 2023. (Saul Loeb / AFP through Getty Images / Getty Images)
Some Democrats of the Congress decided to prove if they would be given access to the Treasury since Doge received access, with the representative Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., Writing in X: “We are members of the Congress in the Treasury Department. We want to be allowed to enter for provide supervision on behalf of our constituents. “
The Communications Director of the White House, Steven Cheung, replied: “Look at these losers. Literally everything they do is for the influence of social networks.”
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Doge’s access to payment systems occurred after the interim Undersecretary of the Treasury, David LeBryk, resigned from the agency. LeBryk resigned from his position after Dege requested access to confidential treasure data, according to The Washington Post.
“The tax service performs some of the most vital functions in the government,” LeBryk said in a letter to treasure employees. “Our work can be unknown to the majority of the public, but that does not mean that it is not exceptionally important. I am grateful for having been able to work together with some of the best and most talented employees of the nation’s operations.”