Hello from the State Capitol,
This week, the House debated a plan that would have immediately helped schools improve safety and security in their facilities. It included more school safety and mental health funding for all schools statewide, flexible local options for anonymous threat reporting, and student discipline reform to better protect teachers, staff and students.
All of these are items that, until this week, had bipartisan support and could easily be moved forward due to their noncontroversial nature.
Instead, we had yet another political vote this session. Every Republican voted for approval, and every Democrat voted against these common sense proposals.
To learn more about the plan, you can watch a press conference by clicking here.
IS SEEKING FRAUD ACCOUNTABILITY JUST A “PETTY GRIEVANCE?”
On Tax Day, ironically, the House Rules Committee discussed procedures in how to move forward with articles of impeachment against Governor Walz due to his dereliction of duty in stopping fraud in Minnesota – which is currently estimated in $9 billion in taxpayer losses. The same procedure was discussed for Attorney General Keith Ellison, who lied under oath to Congress.
Things stalled on a tied committee vote with all Republicans voting in favor and all Democrats voting against. All Dems wanted to focus on was President Trump and national issues, rather than the $9 billion in fraud that happened on their watch.
One House Democrat had the audacity to suggest Republicans were in favor of impeachment due to “petty grievances.” They’re actually trying to get you to believe that wanting accountability for allowing $9 billion to be stolen from taxpayers and creating a culture of fraud in this state is merely a “petty grievance.”
I had some thoughts on this nonsense. Click here to watch my committee comments.
AT LEAST $20 BILLION ALLOCATED IN MINNESOTA TO HIGH-RISK MEDICAID PROGRAMS
This week, a KARE 11 investigation revealed that an astonishing $20 billion in Medicaid reimbursements has been distributed to 14 state programs that have been flagged as high risk for fraud, waste, and abuse. The sheer scale of this figure is difficult to comprehend and once again raises serious concerns about oversight, accountability, and the responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars. Or in the case of this administration, lack thereof.
Unsurprisingly, this revelation has sparked widespread outrage among Minnesotans, who expect stronger safeguards to protect public funds and ensure they are used for their intended purposes.
House Republicans have continued to call for stronger fraud prevention measures, increased transparency, and meaningful accountability, and we only have a few weeks left to enact some new protections into law.
Meanwhile, ponder how much of the $20 billion allocated to “high risk” Medicaid programs in this state were actually used for their intended purpose.
Read more here.