DOGE Dodges the Truth About Wasteful Spending

For the past few weeks, the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has made headline-grabbing claims that it has eliminated hundreds of millions of dollars in “wasteful” government spending. DOGE is killing contracts with hefty price tags and trumpeting the savings to bolster its allegations the government is engaging in excessive and fraudulent spending. However, a closer look at DOGE’s cancelled contracts show the savings it’s heralding are heavily inflated and fail to account for money that’s already been spent.

Take the devastating cuts to the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), the research arm of the U.S. Department of Education established under the Bush Administration in 2002. IES researches and collects data on how well students are performing in U.S. schools and analyzes the success of American education initiatives such as the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), often referred to as the nation’s report card.

On February 10, DOGE staffers terminated 89 IES contracts, and implied the action saved $881 million. However, based on New America’s analysis of the contracts DOGE said it discontinued, over half of the contract values rely on a number that includes extra contract options, many of which may never be executed.[1] The total contract value of current awards is more realistically around $676 million. This is $200 million less than what DOGE claimed.[2]

DOGE itself seems to admit the contract savings are far less than initially suggested. Among 104 U.S. Department of Education contracts listed on its new Wall of Receipts website, including the IES contracts, DOGE states the savings amount to just $500 million.

Out of the $881 million DOGE claims to have cut, it's unclear where a large portion of the numbers come from. In one case, DOGE workers cut what they claimed to be a $19 million Mathematica contract, which evaluated the impact of teacher residency programs and the professional development for classroom teachers.[3] The $19 million doesn’t align with any of the contract values pulled from publicly available databases, nor does it match the DOGE website. The DOGE website states the Mathematica contract is worth $14 million. The contract is currently awarded at just under $8 million.

Further, while DOGE would have Americans believe that cancelled contracts result in immediate savings, Elon Musk’s team is actually frittering away hundreds of millions in taxpayers dollars. That’s because in the case of the IES contracts, the government has spent almost $400 million—or 59 percent—of the current awards.[4] Research cannot be undone, and statistics cannot be uncollected. Instead, they will likely sit on a computer somewhere untouched. More than half of the contracts DOGE ended have used more than 50 percent of their funding. One of the IES contracts funded an evaluation of the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program, which creates learning centers for students who attend high-poverty schools to receive additional academic support. That contract was over 90 percent spent before DOGE abruptly cancelled it. According to New America’s analysis, the real “savings,” if you can call it that, are around $278 million.[5] Neither the initial list of $881 million in cuts nor the DOGE website used to calculate reported savings account for money that’s already been spent.

Further complicating matters, the U.S. Department of Education may need to rebid some of the contracts because they fund agency operations and studies required under federal law, meaning Americans tax dollars will pay for the study and the significant amount of work that goes into federal contract procurement twice. DOGE acknowledged this in talking points compiled for members of Congress which state, “Any contracts to perform statutory functions will be rebid.”

One study required by law is the National Postsecondary Student Aid Survey (NPSAS). NPSAS, which has been conducted every three to four years since the late 1980s, is widely relied on by researchers and policymakers to understand how students and families pay for higher education. The current value of the 2024 NPSAS contract is $30 million, $18 million of which was already spent.

The cancelled IES contracts pay for dozens of studies into what works in education, how to improve teaching and learning, and how well students are performing across the American education system. The data collected inform school systems, colleges and universities, states, the federal government, policymakers, and students and families on the most effective uses of taxpayer money. Cancelling these contracts while important data languishes on a computer wastes taxpayer dollars and leaves policymakers in the dark. DOGE’s proclamations of saving money are a master class in inefficiency and a squandering of public funds.

For more on New America’s growing collection of posts and statements on defending the Department of Education, see here.

[1] The “potential award amount” includes contract options that may never be executed. It also includes additional option years, which may or may not be executed. The “current award amount” is the amount the Federal government has agreed to pay. The actual contract valuation is likely to vary, and it is difficult to say with accuracy how much the Federal government will ultimately spend. However, the current award is the value of the current contract and a conservative estimate, with the actual average likely lying somewhere in between the current and potential award.

[2] New America compiled contract data from USA Spending and the DOGE website. The data can be found here: Institute of Education Sciences Contracts Terminated by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). New America uses the total of the current award to calculate the contract value for reasons explained in Footnote 1.

[3] See Mathematica contract 91990019C0066 on the IES Terminated by DOGE spreadsheet.

[4] New America used the outlay amount to calculate how much of the contract has been spent.

[5] “Savings” represents the total of current awards minus total outlays. See table in Footnote 2.