When I came to California in the Reagan days, it represented the heart of America — a Golden State where families could work hard, start businesses, and live out their very own American Dream. Today, California has earned a very different reputation: the land of scams.
During the pandemic, criminals siphoned $32 billion out of California’s unemployment system. That’s well above most states’ budgets, enough to fix every pothole from San Diego to Sacramento. And that’s just one program.
We’ve seen millions in SNAP funds diverted by criminal rings in recent years. Millions more have been stolen by AI “ghost students” enrolling in California community colleges and pocketing the cash. Most recently, we’ve seen billions in Medicaid funds go toward non-essential healthcare for illegal immigrants and hundreds of millions more down the drain for fraudulent hospice schemes.
Every time I pick up my phone, there’s fresh fraud in California — and all of this with Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom jetting off to so many European cities, you’d think he was a Eurovision popstar.
I have written to Newsom directly about each of these cases. In all but one instance, I’ve received no response — not even an acknowledgment of receipt. The lone exception was a dismissive answer regarding my letter on Medicaid fraud, in which the administration claimed the problem was an overblown non-issue because the state would simply reimburse the federal government for improper payments.
It is clear that federal and state dollars are not being competently accounted for in the middle of this fraud circus. Is this really the standard of accountability we want for our hard-earned taxpayer dollars? As a California taxpayer, I certainly do not.
That’s why I introduced the “No More SCAMS Act” to create a federal interagency task force dedicated to cracking down on waste, fraud and abuse across government programs. For too long, our federal agencies have been trying to tackle fraud with no playbook, tripping over themselves while scammers run up the score. My bill puts one quarterback on the field with one game plan and a single mission: stop the fraud.
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Despite what Sacramento Democrats or Newsom himself might have you believe, the movement to crack down on fraud isn’t some Republican gotcha tactic. It’s good government that puts Californians and Americans first.
These resources should be going to students, veterans, mothers and low-income families in need — not fraudsters and organized criminal rings while career politicians look the other way. Every dollar lost to fraud is a dollar taken away from Americans who actually need the help and from taxpayers who are stretched thin.
Sadly, fraud is running rampant and California is ground zero. Instead of having a governor focused on fixing the problem and making our state better, we have the biggest snake oil salesman of all.
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Everyone here in California has felt the reality of Newsom’s disastrous policies firsthand. Since he took office in 2019, prices have skyrocketed, crime has spiked, and hardworking Americans can’t afford to raise a family. The American Dream of homeownership has become a generational privilege instead of a goal families can realistically work toward.
Despite all of this, I still believe in our Golden State. It’s my home. It’s where my family is. And it hurts me to see so many of my friends and neighbors struggling because of Sacramento’s out-of-touch policies.
I’ve been battling this lunacy since my days in the State Assembly and continue that fight today as the representative for Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. I didn’t come this far to watch our state be run into the ground by scams, corruption and failed leadership.
It’s true, we’re in the fight of our lives for the soul of California. Working with President Donald Trump, I’m determined to take on that fight and help bring California into its Golden Age.
