St. Paul – Rep. Jimmy Gordon, R-Isanti, has signed on as an author of two bills in a series of House Republican proposals to curb fraud, waste, and abuse in state programs.
Gordon said the common thread among the bills is to increase accountability and protect taxpayers at a time fraud and waste is rampant in Minnesota. From Feeding our Future to childcare assistance, frontline worker pay, and DHS and the Department of Education, reports of fraud and waste have cost Minnesota taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars – and counting.
“Between fraud and government waste, the Walz administration and Democrats in Minnesota have largely ignored this problem and it’s gotten out of hand,” Gordon said. “House Republicans are standing up for taxpayers by saying, ‘enough is enough’ with the fraud and waste. Minnesota families and businesses already are getting clubbed by high taxes and historic price increases, and we owe it to them to be more careful with the people’s money. The additional oversight and accountability provided in our bills will be a step in the right direction.”
The first three bills House Republicans drafted in response to this issue this session include:
- House File 1 (co-authored by Gordon): Establishes a centralized Office of the Inspector General to lead the fight against fraud across state programs. The bill consolidates agency-based inspector general offices into a unified entity, requires agencies to halt payments when fraud is suspected, and mandates the creation of a fraud reporting hotline. Additionally, it provides funding to ensure the new OIG has the resources to be effective.
- House File 2: Strengthens fraud prevention by mandating stricter reporting requirements for state agencies and equipping them with additional tools to identify and prevent fraudulent activities. This bill emphasizes transparency and swift action to address fraud concerns.
- House File 3 (co-authored by Gordon): Establishes “fraud notes,” a groundbreaking tool to assess the susceptibility of proposed legislation to fraud. Similar to fiscal notes, fraud notes would provide lawmakers with an evaluation of potential fraud risks before enacting new programs or policies.
House Republicans anticipate each of the three bills will receive their first House Committee hearings in the coming weeks.
-30-