Washington, D.C. - Today, Congressman Tom Emmer joined Congressman Brad Finstad, Congresswoman Michelle Fischbach, and Congressman Pete Stauber in sending a letter to Governor Walz and leadership of the Minnesota Legislature communicating their urgent and growing concern related to widespread fraud, waste, and abuse within public programs administered by the State of Minnesota, many of which involve federal funding and oversight.
In the letter, the Representatives outline repeated cases of failed oversight and accountability across multiple state agencies and programs that resulted in fraud and abuse of taxpayer dollars, citing recent incidents within the Minnesota Department of Education, Minnesota Housing Stabilization Services, the Child Care Assistance Program, and others.
The lawmakers wrote, in part:
“Minnesota has now become a national case study in failed program oversight and misused public funds. As Members of Congress, we are working diligently to restore fiscal order at the federal level, but that effort requires strong partners in state governments – partners who are equally committed to rooting out fraud, waste, and abuse, and ensuring taxpayer dollars are respected.
“As elected officials called to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars, it is our duty to ensure we are leaving our backyard better for future generations rather than allowing today’s decisions to saddle our children and grandchildren with unsustainable debt and broken systems. Fiscal discipline, program integrity, and public trust must be restored – starting now. We stand ready to work with you in good faith, but we also must demand accountability. The American people deserve nothing less.”
Read the full letter here.
This letter comes as the latest effort by the Minnesota Republican congressional delegation to hold Governor Walz and his administration accountable for the alarming pattern of mishandling of taxpayer dollars within statewide programs.
Most recently, on February 3, 2025, the delegation sent a letter to Gov. Walz following the news that 62 investigations have been opened to look into federally funded childcare centers in Minnesota for fraud and other serious violations.
In December 2024, the delegation issued a statement condemning the lack of oversight from the Governor’s office and the DFL trifecta which resulted in FBI raids at autism treatment centers in St. Cloud and Minneapolis after finding "substantial evidence" of fraud connected to the state-funded Early Intensive Developmental and Behavioral Intervention program.
In November 2023, the delegation was joined by then-House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx, House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn “G.T.” Thompson, and House Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer in demanding transparency from Gov. Walz and his administration amid ongoing investigations into the mismanagement of child nutrition programs that led to the largest COVID-related fraud in the country.
###