Program Integrity by Design

I spent nearly five years at the U.S. Small Business Administration reviewing 7(a) and PPP files after funds had already disbursed. My job was to determine whether the borrower had been eligible in the first place. I write about what that work revealed, and why eligibility and verification belong in program design instead of after-the-fact review. My work has appeared in The Hill, Government Executive, and Federal News Network.

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Traci Harig

Op-Ed Publications

Published commentary on program integrity, government accountability, emergency lending, and program design.

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Policy Analyses

Long-form analysis of legislation, federal programs, implementation, controls, and the gap between policy design and practice.

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Essays

Personal writing on public life, civic culture, loss, unity, and the issues that make me stop and think.

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Featured Work

Editorial graphic for “Anti-Fraud Bills Target Payments,” illustrating the program design layer with a building foundation under construction.

Originally published in Federal News Network | June 26, 2026
Federal anti-fraud measures strengthen payment screening, but a critical gap remains: program-specific eligibility proof before public money moves or federal exposure attaches.

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Policy analysis graphic for “Nine Years, Five Congresses, One Undefined Word,” highlighting residency as undefined in Medicare for All legislation.

Independent Analysis | September 2026
A practitioner analysis of a question Medicare for All legislation has left unresolved across five Congresses: how residency eligibility would actually be determined.

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© 2026 Traci Harig. All rights reserved.

Views expressed are my own.

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