ST. PAUL – State Rep. Chris Swedzinski, R-Ghent, is calling for heightened state agency accountability and better accounting after yet another non-partisan audit revealed serious mismanagement and lost taxpayer revenue in Minnesota.
According to the report, the Department of Human Services “did not comply with the significant finance-related legal requirements we tested and generally had inadequate internal controls,” has not attempted to recover substantial overpayments totaling more than $40 million to Medical Assistance providers and has not accurately reported its accounts receivable balance to Minnesota Management and Budget for inclusion in the state’s financial statements since 2019.
“This is an age where our state and federal governments need to shrink, but Democrats keep kicking and screaming to keep growing them and just increased state spending by 40 percent in Minnesota,” Swedzinski said. “Not only that but, they refuse to get serious about getting a handle on the fraud and waste that is occurring in Minnesota.
“A lack of accountability and sloppy accounting have taken root in Minnesota’s agencies with Democrats in full control of the Capitol the last two years. This highlights the importance of having two-party control and underscores how good it is Republicans have gained equal power in the House. We’ll demand more from our agencies, working to increase accountability and add more guardrails to protect taxpayers.”
Swedzinski will serve as the Republican chair of the House Energy Finance and Policy Committee during the upcoming biennium. He said he and fellow House Republican chairs are sending formal letters to all 25 state agency commissioners, requesting detailed information on department expenditures, potential areas for cost savings, how to increase efficiencies, and areas for budget reductions within their agencies. He said this is the first step in House Republicans’ efforts to rein in out-of-control spending and stabilize Minnesota’s long-term budget outlook.
This audit is just the latest in a series of reports Swedzinski said reveal rampant fraud and waste in Minnesota departments and programs, from Feeding our Future to childcare assistance, frontline worker pay, and DHS and the Department of Education, costing Minnesota taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.
The full OLA audit regarding DHS mismanagement is available at https://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/.
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