FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA CONTACT:
David Anderson, 320.212.0678
David.Anderson@house.mn.gov
Chair Jeff Backer Statement on MDH DEI "Consultant" Hires
St. Paul, MN—State Representative and Chair of the Health Finance and Policy Committee Jeff Backer, R-Browns Valley, issued the following statement reacting to news that the Department of Health is looking to hire two new Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion consultants at salaries of more than $100,000 per year:
“Minnesota is facing a $6 billion budget deficit, while state programs continue to bleed hundreds of millions of dollars to waste, fraud, and abuse. Instead of focusing on fixing these problems and protecting taxpayer dollars, the Minnesota Department of Health is spending more than $200,000 on two new Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion consultants.”
On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Justice announced the first formal charges in its fraud investigation of Minnesota’s Early Intensive Developmental and Behavioral Intervention (EIDBI) program. This follows last week’s indictments in the DOJ’s separate probe into the state’s Housing Stabilization Services program. Along with the Feeding Our Future scandal, Acting U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson has said these schemes “form a web that has stolen billions of dollars from taxpayers.”
Backer concluded, “Minnesotans expect accountability and common sense from their leaders, not more bureaucracy and politically driven DEI positions that ignore the real crises facing our state. The Department should be focused on cleaning up fraud and delivering real value for taxpayers, not growing bureaucracy with positions Minnesotans don’t want.”
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