Your Tax Dollars at Work (and at Risk)
Friends,
As you wrap up your tax filings this season, I want to remind you where your hard-earned dollars go – and how we can recover funds that rightfully belong to Minnesota taxpayers. The December 2024 Office of the Legislative Auditor report revealed that the Department of Human Services has made no attempt to recover over $40 million in outstanding medical assistance overpayments to providers. I’m leading efforts to force DHS to bring those dollars home to Minnesota taxpayers.
Meanwhile, the free jail phone program, started under the DFL trifecta, costs us an initial $8.2 million and $3.6 million each year thereafter. With inmates using up to 5 million call minutes a month, many conversations go unmonitored, enabling contraband deliveries, criminal coordination, and threats against witnesses and victims. Earlier this session, I carried legislation to end this program and redirect those funds back into public safety.
We’ve also uncovered the “Feeding Our Future” fraud, an elaborate scam that siphoned $450 million away from our schools and students. I’m working to tighten oversight, increase penalties, and make sure this never happens again.
MinnesotaCare Expansion to Undocumented Immigrants
In 2023, the DFL trifecta quietly expanded MinnesotaCare to individuals here illegally. After repeated requests from House Republicans, the Minnesota Department of Health confirmed by email that 17,396 undocumented immigrants are now enrolled, more than double the originally projected 7,700. What was forecast to cost $196?million over four years has already ballooned to $550?million, and it is still climbing.
Shockingly, every dollar of this expansion is being paid for by hardworking Minnesotans, with no offsets or contributions from outside our state. At a time when we face a $6?billion budget deficit, this unchecked spending threatens critical funding for ambulance services, hospitals, nursing homes, schools, and disability supports, services our families depend on.
Bottom Line: Democrats are diverting over $550?million of your tax dollars to bankroll free, top-tier health coverage for undocumented immigrants, putting essential health services for Minnesota residents at risk.
See Monday’s press conference covering this issue?[here].
School Lunch Reform (HF 2201)
I’m proud to be a coauthor on HF 2201 which limits state paid free lunch to families at or below 500 percent of the Federal Poverty Level (about $156,000 per year for a family of four). By targeting assistance to those who need it most, we project savings of:
- $111.9 million in 2026
- $117.3 million in 2027
- $119.6 million in 2028
- $121.3 million in 2029
totaling $470.1 million over four years.
Those savings could help shore up teacher pensions, potentially lowering the retirement age, or be reallocated to Local Optional Revenue (LOR) – giving school officials the funding flexibility they need to hire teachers, reduce class sizes, purchases materials, or fix aging facilities.
Stopping the Spending “Puck”
Republicans like me compare ourselves to a hockey goalie, our job is to stop unnecessary spending from crossing the line. Recovering $40 million in overpayments, $450 million in fraud, $3.6 million a year in free inmate calls, and $470 million in targeted lunch reform adds up to nearly $1 billion ($963.7 million) – a win for every taxpayer.
Stay Engaged
If you have questions or feedback on any of these efforts, government accountability, public safety, or school funding, please reply to me at rep.terry.stier@mn.house.gov or call my office at (651) 296-1234.
Thank you for entrusting me with your hard-earned dollars. No new taxes, no waste, just good, common-sense stewardship.
Warmly,
Rep. Terry Stier
District 22B • terry.stier@house.mn.gov • (651) 296-1234