Excerpt:
"“zombie programs” cost taxpayers at least $500 billion in 2025, although CBO analysts were unable to determine how much money 869 of the programs actually received; the actual dollar total was far higher.

“Zombie programs” earn their nickname by living on for decades after their funding was legally scheduled to lapse. For example, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission was created by a 1981 law that allowed Congress to fund it until 1984. But Congress has continued to send it money every year, without passing a law that makes such funding legal. "