EXCLUSIVE: Senate Republicans are naming the centerpiece of a 12-figure anti-fraud package after Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, arguing his administration’s handling of massive welfare fraud schemes made him the symbol of government waste they hope to eliminate.
Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa., is dropping the legislation just as fraud-exposing journalists, such as Nick Shirley, testify to the Homeland Security Committee about videotaped discoveries in the “Feeding Our Futures” scandal in Minnesota and other similar alleged rackets elsewhere on Wednesday.
The “Welfare Abuse and Laundering Zillions (WALZ) Act” from Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., is at the core of the broader anti-fraud package targeting Minnesota-style violations, COVID fraud, foreign remittance abuse and repeat offenders, and is projected to save taxpayers roughly $240 billion, Fox News Digital learned.
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The WALZ Act requires federal payments be made as reimbursements to states only after a service is proven to have been provided – a process critics say Minnesota failed to police adequately.
It also requires that if a state program receiving federal funding sees a six-month increase in disbursements of more than 10%, the HHS inspector general must investigate that program.
One of Ernst’s pieces of the package, the Returning Unspent COVID Funds Act, would claw back more than $65 billion in federally-disbursed COVID funds – now six years after the height of the pandemic – to avoid future abuse of those funds.
“While hardworking Americans are struggling to make ends meet, fraudsters are getting away with ripping off $1.4 billion of taxpayer money every single day,” Ernst told Fox News Digital on Wednesday.
“Government grift and graft is endless, but the public’s patience isn’t and neither is mine. The Senate will have an opportunity to bring this crime spree to an end by passing my Protecting American Taxpayers Act. This bill stops fraud before it happens and takes back the loot that’s already been stolen. As for the scammers, they’re going to the slammer.”
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Fox News Digital reached out to Walz for comment on lawmakers using his name.
Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., also contributed legislation to the package that would extend the statute of limitations for the government to prosecute COVID fraudsters.
Keen-eyed federal employees would also be able to claim monetary rewards from the federal government under the package – as part of the “Bonuses for Cost-Cutters Act” from Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., that instructs inspectors general to pay out sums to those who uncover fraud or waste.
The anti-fraud package also goes far beyond America’s borders to protect U.S. taxpayers, according to Ernst.
Sen. Tim Sheehy’s, R-Mont., No Tax Dollars for Terrorists Act would instruct the State Department to implement a process to discourage NGOs and foreign nations from financially supporting the Taliban, including via U.S.-provided foreign assistance that Washington gives to such groups or governments.
Outside the oft-reported welfare scams and social services fraud operations, the package also brings attention to other ways the federal taxpayer has purportedly been defrauded over the years.
Suspected abuse of remittances – or funds sent by U.S.-resident foreigners to their home countries – has been a thorn in the side of some conservatives for years.
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Part of Ernst’s package also includes a bill from Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, that would require people who send wire transfers and remittances abroad to certify that they are not already on public assistance; essentially protecting the taxpayer from their welfare funds being shifted to other countries.
“For decades, Washington’s failed welfare program rewarded dependency while enabling fraudsters and criminals to exploit the system to take advantage of American taxpayers,” Moreno said in a January statement after initially drafting the legislation. “If an individual has enough cash to send money overseas, they have no business taking welfare benefits from hardworking Americans. The abuse ends now.”
In Ernst’s package, a proposal by Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., called the Assisting Small Businesses Not Fraudsters Act, would prevent previously convicted fraudsters from receiving Small Business Administration funds.
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A source familiar with Senate procedure said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., could tee up a vote by filing cloture – ending debate – on the legislative process for the massive package as early as late this week.
Co-sponsors of the greater anti-fraud package include GOP Sens. David McCormick of Pennsylvania, Charles Grassley of Iowa, Jim Justice of West Virginia, John Kennedy of Louisiana and Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso of Wyoming, among several others.
Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton contributed to this report.
