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House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., will accuse top Minnesota government officials of being “asleep at the wheel” at the start of his panel’s high-profile hearing into alleged fraud.
In Comer’s opening statement, obtained by Fox News Digital, he is expected to question whether “Governor Tim Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison, and Minnesota’s Democratic leadership” were negligent or “complicit” in the growing scandal.
“Minnesota’s social services — which are funded by you, the American taxpayer — are being ripped off. The most vulnerable are suffering as a result,” Comer will say, according to his prepared remarks.
“The fraudsters — many of whom are from Minnesota’s Somali community — have stolen from programs meant to feed needy kids, provide services to autistic children, house low-income and disabled Americans, and provide healthcare to vulnerable Medicaid recipients.”
HOUSE GOP BILL COULD TRIGGER SELF-DEPORTATION FOR SOMALI REFUGEES AMID MINNESOTA FRAUD PROBE
Federal prosecutors in Minnesota have charged multiple people with stealing more than $240 million from the Federal Child Nutrition Program through the Minnesota-based nonprofit Feeding Our Future.
However, the probe has since widened to multiple state-run programs being investigated for potential fraud. Childcare providers receiving state funding, mainly within the Somali community, are also under scrutiny.
U.S. attorneys have alleged that billions more dollars could have fallen prey to fraud in the state, something Walz has pushed back on while accusing Republicans of politicizing the scandal.
“Fraudsters like these take millions to enrich themselves while providing nothing, overstating, or outright faking the services. How many children have gone hungry because fraudsters stole money that was intended to provide them with food?” Comer will say.
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“How many autistic children were denied services because fraudsters instead sent this money overseas? How many low-income seniors, people with disabilities, or those with mental illnesses were denied access to housing because fraudsters drained resources and pocketed the money for themselves?”
Comer will argue in his statement that the revelations so far are “just the tip of the iceberg.”
The Wednesday hearing, which kicks off at 10 a.m. ET, will feature testimony from three Republicans in the state legislature.
Comer summoned Walz and Ellison for a follow-up hearing on Feb. 10, but it’s not yet clear if they will attend.
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., will also take part in Wednesday’s hearing, Fox News Digital was told. Emmer is a longtime critic of Walz’s administration and represents a district that’s home to two out of three of the hearing’s GOP witnesses.
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