Majority Leader | Research | The Leader Board | THE NEWSR...Skip to primary navigation Skip to content×Close THE NEWSROOMRemarks Press Releases The Leader Board Op-Eds Videos SENATE RESOURCESRepublican Senators Committees Congressional Record Congress.gov Senate Floor Webcast ABOUT LEADER THUNE×Close THE NEWSROOMRemarks Press Releases The Leader Board Op-Eds Videos SENATE RESOURCESRepublican Senators Committees Congressional Record Congress.gov Senate Floor Webcast ABOUT LEADER THUNExxsearchxMENUFacebookXInstagramFacebookXInstagramVisit Leader Thune's South Dakota Site Here THE NEWSROOMRemarks Press Releases The Leader Board Op-Eds Videos SENATE RESOURCESRepublican Senators Committees Congressional Record Congress.gov Senate Floor Webcast ABOUT LEADER THUNExxsearchxMENUHomeTHE NEWSROOMThe Leader Board01.14.26Republicans Are Safeguarding Taxpayer Money and Vital Programs Over Democrat ObjectionsRepublicans Are Working to Rid the Government of Waste, Fraud, and Abuse While Democrats Do Everything in Their Power to Oppose Safeguards DEMOCRATS KEEP ATTEMPTING TO DERAIL REPUBLICANS’ EFFORTS TO REIN IN WASTE, FRAUD, AND ABUSE OF TAXPAYER MONEY“The nonpartisan and nonpolitical Government Accountability Office has estimated that ‘the federal government loses between $233 billion and $521 billion annually to fraud,’ based on data from 2018 to 2022.” (The Wall Street Journal: What to Know About Minnesota’s ‘Industrial-Scale Fraud’ Scandal – 12/19/25)“SNAP spending has nearly doubled since it was reauthorized in the 2018 Farm Bill, reaching $100 billion annually. Due to administrative overreach, this has far outpaced the rate of inflation.” (U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry: Chairman Boozman Releases Agriculture, Nutrition, & Forestry Budget Reconciliation Text – 6/11/25)“The GAO [Government Accountability Office] last fall began an undercover test in which it submitted insurance applications for fictitious individuals to the federal ObamaCare exchange and insurance brokers. Nearly all of its invented people were able to enroll in subsidized plans despite submitting false or no records to verify their identities and incomes. Of GAO’s 24 applications, 23 were approved.” (The Wall Street Journal: Editorial: ObamaCare Is a Mecca for Fraud – 12/7/25)“Eighteen enrollees were still covered as of September, suggesting that the exchange and insurers didn’t verify information even after enrollment. The subsidies paid to insurance companies for those 18 applicants totalled more than $10,000 per month, equivalent to a $6,700 annual subsidy for each enrollee.” (The Wall Street Journal: Editorial: ObamaCare Is a Mecca for Fraud – 12/7/25)“GAO also analyzed enrollment data in 2023 and 2024 for data anomalies. It found more than 29,000 Social Security numbers in 2023 and nearly 68,000 in 2024 that were used to receive more than one year’s worth of insurance coverage with subsidies in a single year—meaning the same Social Security number was used by more than one person.” (The Wall Street Journal: Editorial: ObamaCare Is a Mecca for Fraud – 12/7/25)Democrats have attempted to repeal the health provisions of the Working Families Tax Cuts, and by extension Republicans’ reforms to root out waste, fraud, and abuse from Medicaid, and they even shut down the federal government in an attempt to do so. (Punchbowl News: AM: Dems, GOP dig in as shutdown nears – 9/18/25; Senate Majority Leader: Chuck Schumer and Democrats Want to Break Medicaid. Again. – 8/1/25)During the shutdown, Democrats voted seven times to go back to the wasteful, failed status quo. (S. 2882: Roll Call Vote #557 – 10/9/25; S. 2882: Roll Call Vote #550 – 10/8/25; S. 2882: Roll Call Vote #544 – 10/6/25; S. 2882: Roll Call Vote #542 – 10/3/25; S. 2882: Roll Call Vote #536 – 10/1/25; S. 2882: Roll Call Vote #534 – 9/30/25; S. 2882: Roll Call Vote #527 – 9/19/25)Yesterday, all 47 Senate Democrats voted to repeal a Trump administration rule aimed at lowering premium costs and establishing commonsense safeguards on the Obamacare exchanges. (S.J.Res. 84: Roll Call Vote #8 – 1/13/26; U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services: 2025 Marketplace Integrity and Affordability Final Rule – 6/20/25)The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) final rule “will lower individual health insurance premiums by approximately 5% on average” and “is also projected to save taxpayers up to $12 billion in 2026 by combating the surge of improper enrollments in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Exchanges.” (U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services: CMS Finalizes Major Rule to Lower Individual Health Insurance Premiums for Americans – 6/20/25)CONGRESSIONAL REPUBLICANS, ON THE OTHER HAND, ARE DETERMINED TO EXPOSE THE GROWING MINNESOTA FRAUD SCANDAL“The entire Senate GOP demanded that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz provide a paper trail on the state’s role in the Minnesota fraud scandal, cranking up the scrutiny in Washington, D.C., in the process.” (Fox News: 'Tip of the iceberg': Senate Republicans press Gov Walz over Minnesota fraud scandal – 1/9/26)“In a letter led by Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., Republicans reiterated that Congress controls the flow of taxpayer dollars that are alleged to be used in the unfurling scandal, where federal prosecutors estimate that up to $9 billion was stolen through a network of fraudulent fronts posing as daycare centers, food programs and health clinics.” (Fox News: 'Tip of the iceberg': Senate Republicans press Gov Walz over Minnesota fraud scandal – 1/9/26)“‘The state’s apparent negligent management of federal funds raises significant concerns about the adequacy of the state’s oversight, verification, and compliance systems for safeguarding taxpayer dollars intended to support vulnerable children and working families,’ they wrote. ‘Unfortunately, these latest reports appear to reflect only the tip of the iceberg.’” (Fox News: 'Tip of the iceberg': Senate Republicans press Gov Walz over Minnesota fraud scandal – 1/9/26)“Lawmakers also demanded to know how many investigations the state has conducted into the matter since 2018, any oversight actions the state has taken and why the Walz administration has, so far, not complied with a slate of recommendations from a DHS Office of Inspector General report that included action to recover overpayments, strengthen attendance monitoring at childcare facilities and implement real-time electronic attendance reporting.” (Fox News: 'Tip of the iceberg': Senate Republicans press Gov Walz over Minnesota fraud scandal – 1/9/26)“The House Oversight Committee held a hearing Wednesday on a series of multimillion-dollar fraud schemes in Minnesota, with testimony from state lawmakers who alleged officials resisted efforts to address systemic financial impropriety.” (CBS News: Minnesota lawmakers highlight fraud schemes at hearing before House committee – 1/7/26)“Republican officials have argued for years that Minnesota was slow to act in what federal prosecutors described as the ‘largest pandemic fraud in the United States.’ The issue saw a resurgence late last year, and it hasn't gone away.” (CBS News: Minnesota lawmakers highlight fraud schemes at hearing before House committee – 1/7/26)LAST YEAR, REPUBLICANS ENACTED STRONG SAFEGUARDS TO PROTECT TAXPAYER MONEY. NOW, THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION AND SENATE REPUBLICANS ARE WORKING TO CREATE A NEW ANTI-FRAUD DIVISION.As part of Republicans’ Working Families Tax Cuts law, Republicans enacted safeguards in Medicaid to ensure the funds are there for its intended recipients. The law:Establishes work requirements for able-bodied adults to receive taxpayer-funded Medicaid coverage.Ensures that certain non-citizens do not receive Medicaid benefits.Prevents duplicative enrollments of beneficiaries in multiple states.Ensures that Medicaid beneficiaries and providers who are deceased do not remain enrolled in the program.Requires states to redetermine Medicaid eligibility for the expansion population once every six months, rather than once annually. (U.S. Senate Committee on Finance: Working Families Tax Cuts – accessed 1/14/26)The Working Families Tax Cuts also enacted new rules to ensure SNAP benefits are there for the program’s intended recipients:“Strengthens SNAP work requirements for able-bodied adults by increasing the age that able-bodied adults must continue working from 54 through 64.”“Includes parents of children at or over the age of 14, as these adults can reasonably work, volunteer, or seek education and training while their children are at school.”“Limits the ability of States to arbitrarily waive work requirements by restricting waivers to only areas with high unemployment.” (U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry: Chairman Boozman Releases Updated Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Budget Reconciliation Text – 6/25/25)The Trump administration is also working on additional measures to prevent the type of fraud seen in Minnesota:The Trump administration announced a new division within the Department of Justice “for national fraud enforcement” that “will be responsible for leading the Department’s efforts to investigate, prosecute, and remedy fraud affecting the Federal government, Federally funded programs, and private citizens.” (White House: Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Establishes New Department of Justice Division for National Fraud Enforcement – 1/8/26)“The new Assistant Attorney General will also help develop and set national enforcement priorities, and propose legislative and regulatory reforms as necessary to close systematic vulnerabilities and prevent future abuses.” (White House: Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Establishes New Department of Justice Division for National Fraud Enforcement – 1/8/26)PrintEmailTweetNextPreviousTHE NEWSROOMSENATE RESOURCESABOUT LEADER THUNEFacebookXInstagram
