As GAO testified in 2005, there has been a wide disparity between the level of staff and financial resources that CMS has expended to support and oversee state activities to control fraud and abuse and the amount of federal dollars at risk in Medicaid benefit payments. In fiscal year 2005, CMS dedicated an estimated 8.1 full-time equivalent employees to support states in their anti-fraud-and-abuse operations. In contrast, the federal government spent over $168 billion for Medicaid benefits in fiscal year 2004. Further, resource shortages severely limited two efforts that had shown potential to help states prevent and detect fraud, waste, and abuse. In addition to devoting limited staff and financial resources, CMS lacked a strategic plan to direct its anti-fraud-and-abuse efforts.