The federal government is fining Washington, D.C., $4.4 million due to what it considers a higher-than-acceptable error rate in its payments to recipients of food assistance programs. 

It is the second year in a row that district officials have exceeded the error rate in processing benefits in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The Department of Agriculture found that in 20% of cases, the district either overpaid or underpaid SNAP recipients.