Today Senate Republicans rolled out a comprehensive plan to hold government accountable to stop waste, fraud, and abuse of taxpayers’ dollars. The plan is part of the Minnesotans First agenda for the 2025 legislative session, and highlights numerous bills aimed at limiting fraud before it takes place.
“Under the Walz-Flanagan administration our state, and tax dollars we collect from Minnesota families, have been drained and abused by several cases of fraud throughout the last few years – this has gone on far too long and Minnesotans are asking for us to address this issue in a responsible and detailed way,” said Senator Eric Pratt (R-Prior Lake). “Senate Republicans have heard the concerns pouring in from across Minnesota, and today, we took an important step in addressing the waste and fraud. We are putting forward a slate of bills that seeks to bring transparency and accountability back to our government.”
Notably, recent poling has shown that lower taxes and fraud are “top issues” for Minnesotans. The following bills are part of a targeted rollout meant to address these concerns:
- Oversight
- Increasing penalties on state employees who don’t follow the law in reporting suspected waste, fraud, or abuse
- Increasing protections for whistleblowers that are state employees who report signs of waste, fraud, and abuse
- Creation of the Office of the Inspector General, to provide independent fraud oversight and investigation
- Transparency
- Promoting transparency in the Attorney General’s office
- Encouraging House and Senate committees to hold hearings where the Office of the Legislative Auditor reviews agency compliance with its recommendations to address waste, fraud, and abuse
- Grant Reforms
- Creating the position of Grant Administrator, allowing for the creation of a single grants database
- Pushing for stricter financial audits for organizations that rely on state dollars
- Creating new oversight and compliance checks for grants
Under Governor Tim Walz, fraud is estimated to be hovering around $500 million. The most notorious cases involved Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) fraud, which is ongoing to this day, and Feeding Our Future fraud involving federal dollars. Recently, there have also been concerns with fraud in autism centers and housing programs.
“If we want life to be affordable in Minnesota, we have to get our finances under control – that starts with stopping fraud in its tracks before it begins. This should be a bipartisan effort, so we are calling on Governor Walz and Democrats to work in tandem with us to address these concerns, so we can make life better for families across our state,” finished Pratt.