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With the recent rain events, we are all impacted by too much water. Field crops are underwater creating stress for farmers as many are facing the inability to re-plant. Roads are closed due to flood waters or construction projects causing increased drive time to work or other events. With these costly situations, we were made aware of our State Government mishandling our money. The continued waste, fraud, and abuse of our money needs to come to an end. Those responsible for allowing this to happen must be held accountable for their lack of fiduciary responsibility.
State Agencies Need Accountability After Fraud Reports
Recently, the Office of the Legislative Auditor (OLA) released two extremely concerning reports on both the Frontline Worker Pay Program and the failures that led to over $250 million in fraud by Feeding Our Future. These two reports represent hundreds of millions in wasted taxpayer dollars. Even more concerning is that these are not the only fraud-riddled programs that we know about.
Frontline Worker Pay Program
In the Frontline Worker Pay Program, 40% of applicants’ eligibility for the program could not be verified – nearly half of everyone who applied was either ineligible or didn’t provide enough information to make sure they were eligible. This adds up to hundreds of dollars per person that eligible workers didn’t receive. The program was intended to support those who were on the frontline during the pandemic. At the very least, they deserved the oversight to properly administer these payments and guarantee they were being sent to those who were legitimately on the front line.
Feeding Our Future
The fraud within Feeding Our Future is especially egregious given the massive price tag and the communities this fraud has affected – kids and vulnerable adults who went hungry because they weren’t receiving the meals they should have had access to. The checks and balances on these programs need to be enforced to ensure we’re supporting those who need it most.
Both reports outline failures where verification steps were either not implemented or were completely ignored, opening the door to massive fraud and waste of taxpayer dollars. Minnesotans expect that their tax dollars are accounted for and going to their intended use. With a state budget that has expanded by nearly 40% in the past two years alone, that expectation is even more deserved.
Many Minnesota families are struggling to afford the basics. For government agencies to turn a blind eye to fraud like this is unacceptable. We need accountability in the state agencies that are charged with overseeing and implementing these kinds of programs.
The Governor has direct oversight of these agencies and yet multiple times now we’ve seen them fail to prevent the waste, fraud, and abuse that is costing Minnesota taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. Not a single person has lost their job as a result of this nearly half-billion dollar fraud, and in nearly every case, this administration deflected blame and passed the buck.
These reports need to be a wake-up call for the Governor and his administration, reminding them that Minnesotans deserve better. After a one-party control of state government, raising taxes by nearly $10 billion, Minnesota families cannot afford this level of waste, fraud, and abuse. It is unacceptable for the state to be wasting money while families across the state are struggling to pay their bills and put food on the table.
District Views
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