LEGISLATION HIGHLIGHTSOH SNAP! FRAUD DISCOVERED IN FEDERAL FOOD PROGRAM, AND MINNESOTA? I have been working hard to get this story out, as it just doesn’t pass the smell test. You’ve likely heard about the fraud that’s been found in the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) program, so much so that more than 40 million SNAP recipients nationwide must now reapply to the program and demonstrate their need for assistance. In Minnesota I’ve drawn attention to the 174% increase in SNAP usage from a few years ago. The state calls it an accounting error, but with all the ongoing fraud in this state, I believe we need a federal investigation to ensure it’s nothing more than that. Click here to read a story from Alpha News on the topic, and here for a story from KTTC. And, you can read my column on this SNAP problem below. A recent alarming analysis of federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) data has found that Minnesota usage skyrocketed over the past few years. Minnesota issued nearly $725 million in food aid during 2020. By 2021, the figure was close to $2 billion - that’s a 174% year-over-year increase. So, is this a sign of yet another fraud in Minnesota or something less sinister? According to the Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) - the state agency that administers SNAP - the 2021 through 2023 issuance numbers are inaccurate. In a recent news report, it stated “Minnesota mistakenly included Pandemic EBT [electronic benefit transfer] in the FNS-46 submission, which is the basis for the numbers in the SNAP State Activities report. Not only was Pandemic EBT included, it was included on two lines of the report in a way that double counted these expenditures. It appears the issue is also present in reporting for FY2022 and FY2023.” The DCYF has stated fraud in SNAP is rare, however information coming from the federal government strongly contradicts this notion. When the Trump administration began its tenure, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) told every state to share its SNAP data with the federal government. The goal was to ensure that struggling American families were receiving these benefits and not illegal aliens. While 29 states shared their data, 21 did not, including Minnesota. Of those 29 states who willingly shared their SNAP data, the USDA announced that 500,000 recipients are receiving double benefits, and 186,000 people who are dead are still receiving SNAP. Because of this, it now will require more than 40 million SNAP recipients to reapply to the program and demonstrate their households still meet eligibility requirements in order to continue receiving these benefits. This is a breathtaking amount of fraud in a program that massively expanded under the Biden administration, and now clearly needs to be rebuilt. When a government program does not have modern checks-and-balances, it invites people with bad intent to abuse the program and when word gets out that no one is checking - more people see this as an easy welfare giveaway to exploit. Minnesota’s failure to comply with the USDA has not only led to the problem of verifying its data, but ultimately DCYF’s conclusion that SNAP’s rise in this state was basically an accounting error. As you are aware, Minnesota has a huge fraud problem with billions of dollars already swindled from state taxpayers. At best, this SNAP news is yet another example of mismanagement and dysfunction within the Walz Administration. At worst, it’s an attempt to conceal the growing web of fraud that continues to unravel under the Governor’s watch. As the SNAP investigation continues, Minnesota needs to do the right thing and share SNAP data with the USDA. If someone counted wrong, then let’s make the numbers accurate. But if the program is being exploited, let’s get some help in monitoring the situation and stopping the exploitation. Ultimately, the ones who are hurt the most by nutrition assistance fraud are the ones who cannot afford to feed themselves. With the holidays approaching, we know there are families who need help putting food on the table. There is not a Republican or Democrat out there who wants people to go hungry. But we should also have overwhelming bipartisan support to ensure the programs that feed the hungry aren’t abused by those looking to scam the system. Its clear SNAP has gone unchecked across this country, which has led to the exploitation of a program that was built from compassion and provides humanitarian aid. Because Minnesota’s track record regarding fraud couldn’t be worse, I believe it’s imperative that we share our SNAP data with the federal government. Let the USDA investigate whether our state simply has data entry issues or is part of something much worse. YOUR TAX DOLLARS BEING USED TO FUND ISLAMIC TERRORIST GROUPS?  We have heard many unbelievable stories about fraud in Minnesota over the past few years, but this one takes the cake. According to an investigation by City Journal (click here for the story), your tax dollars were used to help fund the al-Qaida-linked Islamic terror group Al-Shabaab. From the article: “Much like with the HSS program, autism claims to Medicaid in Minnesota have skyrocketed in recent years—from $3 million in 2018 to $54 million in 2019, $77 million in 2020, $183 million 2021, $279 million in 2022, and $399 million in 2023. Meantime, the number of autism providers in the state spiked from 41 to 328 over the same period, with many in the Somali community establishing their own autism treatment centers, citing the need for “culturally appropriate programming.” By the time the fraud scheme was exposed, one in 16 Somali four-year-olds in the state had reportedly been diagnosed with autism—a rate more than triple the state average. According to Glenn Kerns, a retired Seattle Police Department detective who spent 14 years on a federal Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF), the Somalis ran a sophisticated money network, spanning from Seattle to Minneapolis, and were routing significant amounts of cash on commercial flights from the Seattle airport to the hawala networks in Somalia…. Kerns’s investigation eventually expanded to Minnesota, where he realized the same thing was happening. “I worked on it for five years,” Kerns said. “We had sources going into the hawalas to send money. I went down to [Minnesota] and pulled all of their records and, well %^&$, all these Somalis sending out money are on DHS benefits. How does that make sense? We had good sources tell us: this is welfare fraud.” Kerns then investigated the hawalas in Somalia that were receiving the money transfers. He determined, primarily through human sources, that significant funds were being sent from America to Al-Shabaab networks in Somalia. Whether the money was intended for Al-Shabaab or not, Kerns said, they were taking a cut.” On Friday, I signed a letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi asking the Department of Justice to immediately launch an investigation into these claims that Minnesota tax dollars are flowing to foreign terrorist organizations. Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse, this story comes along. The only thing more disgusting than the amount of fraud taking place in Minnesota is the Walz administration’s reluctance to do anything of significance to actually stop this corruption. NEW MARIJUANA LAWS CAUSING PROBLEMS WITHIN HEMP INDUSTRY Ted Galaty and his family have owned a hemp store off of Highway 52 by Zumbrota for years, selling original hemp products that were not intended to get people high, but aimed at pain relief and sleep remedies. Since the legalization of marijuana in Minnesota, the Walz administration cherry picked 117 dispensary licenses, allowing those folks to capture a large portion of the market before other individuals had the opportunity to get licensed. Meanwhile, hemp farmers who previously existed in Minnesota were forced to apply for a wholesale distribution license – at a cost of $10,000 – if they wanted to continue operation, even if they didn’t sell the intoxicating products. Galaty’s choice: raise his prices by 20%, pay $10,000, or quit. Learn more about his conundrum by watching the video here.  I hope all of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday, and hope you are able to spend quality time with family and friends! |