[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 99 (Thursday, June 11, 2026)]
[House]
[Pages H4089-H4098]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CONDEMNING ACTORS SEEKING TO DEFRAUD THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT, AND
EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES THAT
GOVERNMENTWIDE FRAUD AND IMPROPER PAYMENT PREVENTION REFORMS WILL
MEANINGFULLY IMPROVE THE FINANCIAL PROSPERITY OF THE UNITED STATES, AND
THAT FEDERAL PROGRAM ELIGIBILITY SHOULD BE VERIFIED BEFORE PAYMENT
Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 1345, I call
up the resolution (H. Res. 1335) condemning actors seeking to defraud
the United States Government, and expressing the sense of the House of
Representatives that governmentwide fraud and improper payment
prevention reforms will meaningfully improve the financial prosperity
of the United States, and that Federal program eligibility should be
verified before payment, and ask for its immediate consideration in the
House.
The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 1345, the
resolution is considered read.
The text of the resolution is as follows:
H. Res. 1335
Whereas fraud and improper payments in Federal agency
programs is an unsustainable national fiscal emergency;
Whereas the Comptroller General of the United States
documented in 2025 that the Federal Government has improperly
paid about $3,000,000,000,000 since 2003 where payments
should not have been made or were made incorrectly;
Whereas the measured governmentwide improper payment rate
has increased from the prior year, with the Comptroller
General of the United States recently reporting that in
fiscal year 2025 Federal agencies reported approximately
$186,000,000,000 in estimated improper payments, an increase
of about $24,000,000,000 from fiscal year 2024 documented
improper payments;
Whereas the Comptroller General of the United States also
estimates that, based on data from 2018 to 2022 the Federal
Government loses between $233,000,000,000 and
$521,000,000,000 annually to fraud across all Federal
programs and operations;
Whereas each one of these fraudulently spent tax dollars is
taken at the expense of a hard-working American;
Whereas, based on the Comptroller General's estimate of the
average annual amount of fraud losses, between $1,000 to
$3,000 a year represents the average American tax filer's
share of the Federal Government's total fraudulent spending;
Whereas fraud and improper payments have long been a
concern for Congress, pandemic-era spending programs exposed
the vulnerability of Federal agencies to criminals and
malicious actors who had not previously targeted United
States Government programs;
Whereas, between March 2020 and March 2021, Congress
enacted a series of six laws providing over
$4,600,000,000,000 in Federal funds to mitigate the economic
and public health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, with
Congress appropriating over $2,700,000,000,000 for these
purposes in the first four months of the pandemic alone;
Whereas the unprecedented expansion of government programs,
changes to program eligibility requirements, an influx of
government spending, and lack of commensurate and adequate
fraud prevention and financial management capabilities,
created a perfect scenario for existing program and payment
integrity weaknesses to be exploited;
Whereas, in total, while the true extent of pandemic relief
fraud may never be known, the Comptroller General of the
United States observes that ``hundreds of billions of dollars
in potentially fraudulent payments were disbursed'';
Whereas fraud in Federal programs delays and prevents
individuals who legitimately need services, as Congress
intended in establishing such programs, from receiving them;
Whereas fraud in Federal programs severely undermines the
public's trust in the government causing unquantifiable
additional damage to the United States;
Whereas trust has further been eroded as specific fraud
schemes have been uncovered through recent congressional,
Federal, and local investigations;
Whereas significant fraud risks exist in programs that are
federally funded and administered by State, territorial, and
local agencies;
Whereas the ongoing investigation by the Committee on
Oversight and Government Reform of the House of
Representatives of fraud in Minnesota's social services
programs has highlighted real examples of fraud schemes that
stole billions of dollars from federally funded programs,
taking advantage of severely lacking State level program
integrity and agency oversight functions;
Whereas the ongoing investigation by the Committee on
Oversight and Government Reform of the House of
Representatives of fraud in California's federally funded
hospice programs, including providers potentially overbilling
Medicare and enrolling beneficiaries without their knowledge,
raises valid concerns that California lacks sufficient
internal controls to detect and prevent fraud and is not
conducting proper oversight of these hospice programs;
Whereas the ongoing investigation by the Committee on
Oversight and Government Reform of the House of
Representatives of fraud in Medicaid personal care services
authorized by Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS)
waivers, including providers potentially improperly billing
Medicaid or billing for services that were never provided,
raises valid concerns of significant fraud in HCBS Medicaid
waiver programs in Ohio and other States across the country;
Whereas a March 4, 2026, interim report by the Majority
staff of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of
the House of Representatives found that Minnesota Governor
Tim Walz and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison ``were
aware of widespread fraud in federally funded social services
programs for years, possessed the legal and procedural
authority to stop payments, but repeatedly failed to act'';
Whereas the same March 4, 2026, report found that senior
officials in the Governor Walz's office and Attorney General
Ellison's office were ``aware of credible fraud concerns in
Minnesota's social services programs as early as 2019 within
the Department of Human Services (DHS) and by April 2020
within the Department of Education (MDE), despite later
public statements by Governor Walz suggesting otherwise''.
Whereas, based on these investigations, the House of
Representatives has observed that State agencies have little
incentive to ensure that Federal funds are spent efficiently,
or appropriately, and frequently prioritize program access
over payment integrity;
Whereas, based on these investigations, the House of
Representatives has observed that State agencies overly rely
on the self-attested compliance and reimbursement claims of
providers and service enrollees, leaving these programs
highly susceptible to fraud;
Whereas the Comptroller General of the United States has
also documented how mechanisms of misrepresentation by
criminals and malicious actors, such as document
manipulation, false declarations, and creating fictitious
entities, leave Federal programs open to significant fraud
risk when they rely on recipient self-attestation to
determine award eligibility and payment verification;
Whereas, in response to the rampant fraud identified in
several States, the Trump administration established the Task
Force to Eliminate Fraud through Executive Order 14395 (91
Fed. Reg. 13485; relating to establishing the Task Force to
eliminate fraud), issued on March 16, 2026;
Whereas the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud is empowered to
coordinate a national strategy to stop fraud, waste, and
abuse, as rooted in a proper focus on fraud prevention rather
than recovery, a critical shift in approach identified
through the ongoing investigations by the Committee on
Oversight and Government Reform of the House of
Representatives, subcommittee hearings, and legislation
favorably reported to the House of Representatives;
Whereas, in March 2026, Federal prosecutors charged eleven
individuals, including two foreign nationals, in a major real
estate and loan fraud ring preying on elderly victims in
California;
Whereas, between March 25, 2026, and April 15, 2026, the
Task Force to Eliminate Fraud suspended nearly 450
California-based hospice and home health providers due to
suspected fraud, with estimated fraud exceeding $600,000,000;
Whereas, in April 2026, the Department of Justice secured a
guilty plea from a California-based provider who submitted
nearly $270,000,000 in fraudulent Medicaid claims;
Whereas the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud suspended
$1,400,000,000 in home health and hospice funding nationwide,
with 90 percent of the suspended providers failing to contact
the Federal Government since payments were suspended;
Whereas the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud
uncovered $6,300,000,000 in suspected fraudulent government
contracts, resulting in an immediate investigation into
nearly 400 businesses;
Whereas, on April 17, 2026, the Department of Justice
announced that in the first week since its establishment, the
National Fraud Enforcement Division exposed over $340,000,000
in fraudulent schemes;
[[Page H4090]]
Whereas the Department of Justice has also discovered that
$250,000,000 meant for a child nutrition program was instead
spent on luxury cars and overseas real estate holdings;
Whereas, between April 26, 2026, and May 13, 2026, the
Secretary of Education blocked $60,000,000 in fraudulent
student loan applications following the launch of a risk
assessment tool to screen Federal student aid applications
for fraud;
Whereas conducting award recipient eligibility
determinations and payment verification prior to issuing
awards and payments is the primary policy reform needed to
address the national fiscal emergency related to fraud and
improper payments in Federal agency programs; and
Whereas the House of Representatives in response to such
emergency has expedited the drafting and consideration of
governmentwide fraud prevention and improper payment reforms:
Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) condemns the fraudulent actions of those seeking to
defraud the United States Government;
(2) believes governmentwide fraud and improper payment
prevention legislative and policy reforms will meaningfully
improve the continued financial prosperity of the United
States Government and the American taxpayer; and
(3) believes Federal program eligibility and spending
activities should be verified prior to payments being issued.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The resolution shall be debatable for 1
hour, equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority
member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform or their
respective designees.
The gentleman from Texas (Mr. Sessions) and the gentleman from
Virginia (Mr. Walkinshaw) each will control 30 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Sessions).
general leave
Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and
include extraneous material on the measure under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Texas?
There was no objection.
Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, we are facing a national emergency of fraud in Federal
programs that is impacting all Americans. We have watched and been very
sad to see the deficit that keeps rising in this country, but it also
comes from fraud, whereby money that was spent by the Federal
Government is given to people who did not earn and are not entitled to
those resources.
According to the Government Accountability Office, the GAO, the
Federal Government is estimated to lose between $233 billion and $521
billion annually to fraud against all Federal programs and operations.
This means that the average American taxpayer spends between $1,000
and $3,000 annually just to line the pockets of fraudsters and
criminals.
While vulnerable Americans are robbed of benefits, these programs are
designed to provide things that we have authorized them for, and they
are being stolen. They are being taken advantage of.
It is time that Congress makes sure that the American public
understands the true extent of the problem so that Congress can be
empowered to enact bold legislation to address fraud in programs.
Mr. Speaker, our chairman, James Comer, chairman of the Oversight
and Government Reform Committee, listed it as one of the priorities not
just for this Congress but for the American people to know that
Congress is doing their job. They are doing their job to not only
approach and attack this problem, but they are going to make sure that
the American people have a clear viewpoint of where this happened, why
it is happening, and what Congress intends to do about it.
As a result of my serving as the chairman of the Subcommittee on
Government Operations, I have held six hearings where we investigated
and looked at not only how and why this happened, but the real question
is: What is Congress doing in the Federal Government to make sure that
they stop this issue by addressing it?
Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a link to a report that was
issued by the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, which is
titled: ``The Cost of Doing Nothing: How Tim Walz and Keith Ellison
Fueled Minnesota's Fraud Explosion.'' https://oversight.house.gov/wp-
content/uploads/2026/06/MN-Fraud-Final-Staff-Report.pdf
Mr. Speaker, the cost of doing nothing means that we allow it to
continue. That is why we are on the floor today, to give the American
people a clear answer of not only what happened and how it happened,
but also who is responsible for these actions.
{time} 0920
I would assume, based upon what I have seen over the last few weeks,
that our friends who are Democrats will come to this floor and vote
``no.'' They want to act like they deny what is happening. Yet, during
every single one of these hearings, our friends showed up and were very
critical and really asked thoughtful questions. They asked questions of
how and why and what we are going to do. Today is an opportunity where
we will lay out that story for the American people and say this is a
national disgrace.
What we are bringing with H. Res. 1335 today will make clear to the
American people, from the United States Congress, what we would like to
have every single Member understand and vote for because it impacts
every single congressional district.
As the father of a disabled young man, a Down syndrome young man, I
will tell you that the benefits that my son or others who are disabled
count on the Federal Government to be able to properly provide to them,
as provided by law, the things that they are entitled to, many other
people not only come and make claims that are not true but devise a
process by which to take money away from those who it was designed to
help.
In every State across the country, fraud in Federal programs has run
rampant. That is why you have seen, based upon not just us ringing the
bell to let people know, but really the media also speaking up about
this national disgrace. It has allowed Governors and people who run
local agencies to relook at who they are and what their agencies are
doing. It has caused, all across this country, people to go look for
these types of circumstances to make sure it is not in their backyard.
That is also why we are here today. We will provide a flashlight, a
guiding light, to show people what has happened, how it happened, and
what we need to do about it.
The Oversight Committee has taken decisive action in this
investigation. They have taken time to understand the fraud. They have
taken time to make sure they have looked at those actors behind this,
what were the reasons why this happened, and who is responsible. It
will provide a guiding light for States and counties and cities all
across this country to make sure that it is not a disgrace that is
being placed upon them.
These programs needed to be highlighted. They needed the review. They
needed the light of day. They needed to know the story. That is exactly
what this report is.
This report is factually based with data, information, and things
that every Member should be willing to support. This is a resolution.
It is not changing the law. It is saying we are going to say to the
American people: On our watch, these things happened.
I think that it is important to note that there will be things that
are uncomfortable. There are things that are uncomfortable that
happened.
I don't want to sit here today and just point a finger at any
particular person, but you go where the story goes.
The Oversight Committee's investigation into Minnesota social
services programs uncovered $9 billion that was potentially stolen by
fraudsters. This was very interesting, Mr. Speaker, because it was a
systematic understanding of how people went about this, how people
turned a blind eye to not only the things that were happening but
perhaps even abetted and helped these people to sustain this fraud ring
that went on against their own people.
The facts of the case are, the media has showed up, investigators
have showed up, and so did our investigators. We had investigators go
to places who were receiving millions and millions of dollars which was
done across a wide range of things. In Minnesota, it
[[Page H4091]]
was $9 billion. The money that was stolen by these criminals was
taxpayer money. They were taxpayer dollars that were placed there for
the benefit of the people in Minnesota. I think that we should have an
outrage by the people and those Members of Congress from Minnesota.
They should show up here and say: Thank you for helping us. We are not
going to go to fight anymore. We are going to go to fix.
That is what this does. This gives a roadmap to not just Members of
Congress and not just the media. The American people will get the
story, see how it happened and who turned a blind eye to doing their
job.
The money that was stolen by these criminals were taxpayer dollars
intended to feed children, educate children, take care of those who may
have a disability, help low-income seniors, help veterans, and help
people who look to the Federal Government.
Our votes here say yes, we want these Federal programs. Yet, the
people closest to the action, the people responsible, those who were
elected, those with oversight responsibility, those who have
prosecutorial responsibilities, those who had a job to be a part not
just of the American way of doing business but a part of what our
democracy is, turned a blind eye to the facts, reality, and the things
that were going on right underneath their noses.
Meanwhile, senior State officials, including the Governor and the
Attorney General, both former colleagues of ours who distinguished
themselves in this body, were aware of this widespread fraud for years.
Mr. Speaker, that is a story in and of itself. These officials
possessed the legal and prosecutorial authority to stop fraud payments
but repeatedly failed to not only hear the warnings but to act against
those who were whistleblowers. They retaliated against those who did
bring that to them.
This is something that needs to be available for every Governor in
every State and territory. When you ignore doing your job, there are
people who will pay attention. There are questions that will be asked,
and there is going to be some sort of review.
I will tell you, the American people are tired. They are tired of
people in elected places who will turn a blind eye to not just the
responsibility but with the knowledge that this was intended for maybe
someone in their family, certainly someone in their community.
When we talk about education, disability payments, poor people,
helping widows, helping veterans, that is the story that is being told
today.
In April of this year, Federal authorities raided more than 20
locations in Minnesota as part of the ongoing Federal investigation.
This included the Quality Learning Center. The self-named Quality
Learning Center, was a so-called childcare center with no children
being found, yet millions of dollars being sucked down by fraudsters.
Fraud in Minnesota became just the tip of the iceberg in this instance
as we saw.
Whether it is widespread fraud in California in the hospice system or
fraud in the Medicare waiver program in Ohio or New York, it is clear
that our local, elected officials, who have the responsibility, need to
pay attention to the clear warnings that are being made.
The Trump administration has taken decisive action to combat fraud,
waste, and abuse by establishing the White House Task Force to
Eliminate Fraud.
Since March, the task force has uncovered hundreds of millions of
dollars' worth of fraud just in the State of California, including
other government contracts that should go to women, children, veterans,
and people with disabilities.
H. Res. 1335, sponsored by the gentleman from Texas Congressman Pat
Fallon and those on the subcommittee and committee, emphasize that
these schemes across the country harm the American taxpayer and the
vulnerable recipients who expect to receive them. Congress must condemn
these actions and make sure they are available.
{time} 0930
I encourage each of the Members who will be voting today to
understand the real need of what we are doing here today. It is more
than just a Paul Revere call to action. It is an actual story about how
local people turned a blind eye, retaliated against those who came and
provided feedback, and then did nothing and waited until billions of
dollars were wasted.
Mr. Speaker, I hope that what I am doing here today is giving an open
invitation to all the Members of this body to come and see this for
what it is. It is available to them. It is something that everyone has
seen the story.
The question is: Will we today, openly, as a body, understand that
this is something that happened in their backyard or could be in their
backyard, and they need to use this story. Today, an ``aye'' vote will
do just that.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. WALKINSHAW. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Let me be clear: Fraud in Federal programs is a real problem. It
diverts money meant for children, seniors, and working families into
the pockets of criminals. Every dollar lost to fraud is a dollar that
didn't feed a hungry child, didn't help a disabled veteran, didn't
reach the people that this Congress intended to help.
Democrats and Republicans have a long history of working together to
stamp it out. We should continue to do that, and I thank the gentleman
from Texas. I know he is sincere in his commitment to address this
issue, but this resolution turns what should be a bipartisan effort
into a partisan political attack that points the finger only at
Democratic-led States and Governors while pretending the problem does
not exist in Republican-led States.
The gentleman said we should follow the story, but this resolution is
an incomplete story. It doesn't go where the story goes. Let's talk
about some of the story that this resolution leaves out.
Mississippi has a Republican Governor, Tate Reeves. In the largest
public fraud case in that State's history, more than $77 million was
stolen from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF,
program, money meant for some of the poorest families in America. It
was diverted to professional athletes, horse farms, and a volleyball
complex.
An audit found tens of millions in misspent Federal funds, and some
of that money ended up in the pockets of Trump endorser and outspoken
MAGA Republican Brett Favre, who took taxpayer dollars for speaking
arrangements and never showed up. He pocketed the taxpayers' money and
never showed up.
In December of 2024, Mississippi was ordered to repay $101 million in
misspent welfare money. That State's Republican-controlled legislature
has done nothing to address that fraud and corruption. As of today,
they are sitting on $145 million in unallocated TANF funds with no real
plan.
This resolution names Governor Walz and A.G. Ellison and
mischaracterizes what has happened in Minnesota. It says nothing about
Governor Reeves, who was directly implicated in the coverup of the
fraud.
Let's continue to follow the story of Oklahoma and Alabama. According
to Federal data, these two States, led by Republican Governors, lead
the Nation in SNAP fraud. They lead the Nation. It is not Minnesota,
not New York, not New Jersey, not Maryland. It is Oklahoma and Alabama.
This resolution is silent in both cases.
In Florida, Federal prosecutors recently arrested a Russian national
accused of submitting billions of dollars in fraudulent Medicare and
Medicaid claims through a Texas-based supplier and funneling millions
overseas.
Governor DeSantis in Florida just reappointed a University of Florida
board of trustees member who faces Federal charges for defrauding the
government of financial aid funds. In Florida, there is not
accountability for fraudsters. There are board positions.
In Tennessee, Republican State Senator Brian Kelsey was convicted of
conspiracy to defraud the United States. The good news is he was
sentenced to 21 months in prison. The bad news is President Trump
pardoned him 15 days after he began serving that sentence.
The former Republican speaker of the Tennessee House and his chief of
staff were convicted together in a public corruption case. President
Trump pardoned them both, too. This resolution calls for accountability
for those who steal from Federal programs.
In 2025, alone, President Trump issued pardons or commutations to 25
[[Page H4092]]
people convicted of fraud--wire fraud, securities fraud, tax fraud,
bank fraud, healthcare fraud. Those pardons deprived fraud victims of
more than a billion dollars in restitution they were owed. Americans
had a billion dollars stolen from them, and they are not getting it
back because President Trump pardoned the criminals.
This resolution doesn't mention it.
Another State that I don't think is in the resolution is New York,
and there has been some fraud in New York. A gentleman by the name of
Donald J. Trump was found liable by a New York court for a decade of
business fraud, inflating his net worth and values to deceive banks and
insurers. The same gentleman in the State of New York was convicted by
a jury of his peers--12 jurors--of 34 felony counts of falsifying
business records, fraud. The same gentleman also indicted by a Federal
grand jury for conspiracy to defraud the United States.
President Trump pardoned convicted fraudsters, fired 19 inspectors
general who collectively uncovered over $50 billion in fraud and waste
in a single year. He defunded a nonpartisan training program that
prepares the next generation of Federal fraud investigators.
You can't claim to be serious about preventing fraud, whether you
have a task force or not, while you are dismantling the institutions
built to catch people who commit fraud.
Mr. Speaker, I support robust, bipartisan efforts to prevent fraud in
Federal programs. On the Oversight Committee, Democrats and Republicans
have worked together to do that, but this resolution isn't that.
I will quote a former U.S. attorney who spent his career prosecuting
the healthcare fraud that is rampant in Mississippi, not mentioned in
the resolution. He said: Whether a provider or beneficiary is willing
to commit fraud has nothing to do with where they live or which party
governs their State.
If my colleagues truly want to fight fraud, I invite them to join me
in condemning Mississippi, Oklahoma, Alabama, and Florida with the same
energy they brought to fraud in other States. I invite them to condemn
the pardons in 2025 that let convicted fraudsters walk free. I invite
them to work with us to restore the independence of our inspectors
general and fund the oversight infrastructure that this administration
has defunded and gutted.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to refrain from
engaging in personalities toward the President.
Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how much time remains on
both sides, please.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Texas has 16 minutes
remaining.
The gentleman from Virginia has 23 minutes remaining.
Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I do want to respond to the gentleman. I
do want to respond to the gentleman and tell him today is that open
invitation. He and I know that this is a lot of work, work that is
factually based. It is not just showing up--and I don't doubt anything
he has said--but showing up with the evidence of who, how, where, why
did this happen, and what is being done. I would just say that the
gentleman knows that our Government Operations Subcommittee is ready
and open and available--that he would have to admit here on the floor--
on a bipartisan basis.
If the gentleman wants to use the word ``bipartisan'' and say this is
an attack, then bring the things that he would want us also to look at,
but please don't make this political because we have done our homework,
because we have aimed at where the problem is, because we have done
these hearings. We have had people directly in front of us with their
hands raised. We did the work. We did the facts of the case, and I
think--
{time} 0940
Mr. WALKINSHAW. Will the gentleman yield?
Mr. SESSIONS. The gentleman has his own time. He has 23 minutes.
The gentleman needs to understand that he, too, sits at one of these
tables where they can have witnesses called. They can have their staff
do these things, and they can go investigate. They know that perhaps
most of all, I will be very open to listening to them.
That is because if there is one thing I have done over the last few
years, and when I was chairman of the Rules Committee, it is to listen
to other people and to try to at least offer to the body an opportunity
to see the facts of the case.
I think it is an easy thing to come down here--and I respect the
gentleman. I make sure that he is involved in all of our hearings, but
to come down here without evidence or hard work and make claims, I
think, is a very difficult thing when we are expected, as Members of
Congress and our staffs, to do these things right.
Mr. Speaker, we want to continue the story.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from
Minnesota (Mr. Finstad), who was on the winning baseball team last
night and did a great job.
Mr. FINSTAD. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Sessions for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 1335.
For far too long, fraud has run rampant through our federally funded,
State-administered programs in States like mine, Minnesota. It has
allowed bad actors to steal billions of hard-earned taxpayer dollars,
taxpayer dollars meant to feed hungry children, taxpayer dollars meant
to help with and assist low-income adults, taxpayer dollars that were
intended to help veterans afford housing, and taxpayer dollars that
were meant to provide affordable childcare.
This administration and congressional Republicans remain committed to
putting an end to this nonsense and making sure assistance programs are
there to serve our neighbors who truly need them, not fraudsters.
Mr. Speaker, I am just a commonsense farmer from southern Minnesota.
It is beyond me and my understanding that tackling this fraud epidemic
in this country should not be defined by the sweatshirt and the label
we have on that sweatshirt. It should not be a sweatshirt with an ``R''
on it. It should not be a sweatshirt with a ``D.'' This should be the
issue that we all put on the sweatshirt that has ``USA.''
We are protecting the taxpayers of this country. We should be
committed to putting these fraudsters in jail. That should not be a
partisan issue. That should not be a red-State or a blue-State issue.
Earlier this week, the House Oversight Committee released a report
exposing, in my State of Minnesota, how Governor Walz and Attorney
General Ellison were aware of the widespread fraud taking place
throughout the State. They had the authority to stop it, and they
failed to act.
Today's resolution affirms our commitment to combating waste, fraud,
and abuse. It is our commitment that we need to protect the generosity
of the American taxpayer. I am proud to support this legislation that
holds fraudsters accountable.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes.''
Mr. WALKINSHAW. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the comments from the gentleman from Texas.
He is open and always willing to have a conversation and work on
bipartisan legislation, and I appreciate that.
I do think it is unfair to suggest that the majority or the gentleman
are the only ones who have done the work to understand these issues. I
came to this floor with documented cases of fraud that have taken place
across the country.
Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record the full text of the March 4,
2026, ``Democratic Staff Report--Fraud As Pretext: How the Trump
Administration Sacrificed Accountability to Push a Violent, Lawless
Agenda,'' which can be found at the following link: https://
oversightdemocrats.house.gov/imo/media/doc/2026-03-
04fraudaspretextstaffreport.pdf.
[March 4, 2026]
Fraud as Pretext: How the Trump Administration Sacrificed
Accountability to Push a Violent, Lawless Agenda
Democratic Staff Report: Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
U.S. House of Representatives
I. OVERVIEW
More than three years after the first indictments in the
Feeding Our Future case,
[[Page H4093]]
Oversight Committee Republicans are once again relitigating a
fraud scheme that is being aggressively investigated and
prosecuted by federal and state authorities. Rather than
advancing meaningful oversight, this inquiry singles out
Minnesota for political purposes while ignoring comparable
fraud in other states. The facts demonstrate that Minnesota
officials partnered with law enforcement, strengthened
safeguards, and helped bring perpetrators to justice--
undermining the central premise of this investigation.
Committee Republicans amplified their investigation into
social services fraud in Minnesota after right-wing YouTuber
Nick Shirley posted a viral video in December 2025 claiming,
without proof, to have unearthed widespread fraud within the
state's child care centers. This video, and the national
conversation that followed, has been used by the Trump
Administration to scapegoat members of Minnesota's Somali
community and to justify sending thousands of federal agents
into Minneapolis, where they have executed a violent and
deadly crackdown on immigrants, protestors, and anyone they
believe does not support President Trump's agenda.
Republicans' targeting of Minnesota also comes despite
ample evidence of fraud in Republican-run states.
Mississippi, Oklahoma, Alabama, and Florida have ongoing
fraud investigations and documented issues with people
defrauding federal programs, yet Committee Republicans have
not launched an investigation into any of those states.
Fraud in federal social services programs occurs in all 50
states and demands a comprehensive, aggressive, and evidence-
based approach to safeguarding taxpayer dollars and bringing
fraudsters to justice. Yet Republicans on the Committee on
Oversight and Government Reform have launched an
investigation into occurrences of social services fraud
exclusively within the State of Minnesota. In particular,
Chairman Comer has alleged without evidence that Governor Tim
Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison failed to act after
``Minnesota officials saw early signs of fraud within Feeding
Our Future but failed to intervene.'' Notably, this
investigation is not the first time Committee Republicans
have targeted Governor Walz when it was politically expedient
to do so. In August 2024, Committee Republicans launched a
separate failed investigation into Governor Walz several
weeks after presidential candidate Kamala Harris announced he
would be her running mate against Donald Trump in the 2024
election.
States should remain vigilant about fraud, and federal and
state funds should always carry robust oversight and fraud
control mechanisms. Minnesota's Feeding our Future fraud
scandal occurred during the backdrop of the COVID-19
pandemic, when states quickly deployed federal funds to keep
children from going hungry when they no longer had access to
school meals. In hindsight, states and the federal government
have learned lessons from the rapid emergency expansion of
federal programs, including the need for more robust fraud
controls that prevent fraud from occurring in the first
place. Committee Democrats support ongoing federal oversight
and investigative work to investigate, prosecute and recover
funds from those who committed pandemic-era fraud, including
strengthening program payment integrity and implementing
fraud risk frameworks as recommended by the Government
Accountability Office (GAO).
II. KEY TAKEAWAYS
A. Federal fraud prosecutors recognized the Walz
Administration as an important partner in fighting fraud in
Minnesota's social services programs.
B. Witnesses testified that Governor Walz and Attorney
General Ellison take fraud seriously and did not support
Republican claims that Governor Walz or Attorney General
Ellison ignored fraud or directed them to ignore fraud.
1. Witnesses uniformly rejected unsubstantiated
whistleblower claims raised by Republicans on the Walz
Administration's handling of fraud.
2. Witnesses provided details on the fraud control
measures, partnerships, and efforts the Walz Administration
has pursued to combat evolving fraud threats.
C. Working families will suffer if Republicans continue to
use fraud as a pretext to cut access to Medicaid, child care
funding, and other programs.
D. Committee Republicans' investigation appears to be
providing cover for the egregious human and constitutional
rights violations committed by the Trump Administration in
the name of addressing fraud.
1. Trump's surge of thousands of immigration enforcement
officers to Minnesota was allegedly to fight fraud, but
instead, directly obliterated fraud investigation and
prosecution efforts in the state.
2. Committee Republicans claim to be concerned about fraud
yet were silent as President Trump pardoned dozens of
fraudsters and gutted the offices responsible for fighting
fraud, abuse, and corruption.
3. The Trump Administration is trying to use its alleged
response to fraud in Minnesota as leverage to seize the
state's voter rolls.
III. BACKGROUND
Since at least 2022, federal prosecutors have been
investigating a series of social services fraud schemes
perpetrated within Minnesota, totaling approximately $1
billion in stolen taxpayer funds that never reached its
intended recipients. More than 90 people have been charged
and at least 59 people have been convicted across three key
fraud schemes:
The Minneapolis-based nonprofit Feeding Our Future took
advantage of expanded access to federal nutrition benefits
during the COVID-19 pandemic to use federal funding to buy
luxury goods instead of feeding tens of thousands of
Minnesota children;
Certain social services providers falsely certified
children as qualifying for autism treatment in order to steal
public funds and provide kickbacks to the children's parents;
and
Hundreds of social services providers falsely claimed to
have provided services to people at risk for homelessness.
These schemes represent a corrupt and unconscionable effort
to divert critically needed resources away from children and
vulnerable people. Oversight Democrats strongly support
efforts to prevent fraud, punish fraudsters, and ensure the
integrity of social benefits programs.
While many of the defendants in these investigations arc of
Somali descent, and some are Somali immigrants, the vast
majority of those charged in these fraudulent schemes are
American citizens. Notably, the founder and executive
director of Feeding Our Future and ringleader of the fraud
scheme, Aimee Bock, is not Somali.
As part of the Oversight Committee's investigation into
fraud in Minnesota, Chairman Comer called for transcribed
interviews in January and February 2026 with current and
former administrators within the Minnesota Department of
Education (MDE), which oversaw the programs defrauded by
Feeding Our Future, and Department of Human Services (DHS),
responsible for the autism and housing assistance programs
that were defrauded. The Oversight Committee conducted
interviews with:
Emily Honer. Director of Nutrition Program Services at MDE
Daron Korte, Assistant Commissioner of MDE
Mary Cathryn Ricker, Former Commissioner of MDE
Dave Greeman, Former Chief Financial Officer of DHS
Eric Grumdahl, Former Assistant Commissioner for
Homelessness and Housing Supports at DHS
Jodi Harpstead, Former Commissioner of DHS
Tony Lourey, Former Commissioner of DHS
Shireen Gandhi, Commissioner of DHS
The Oversight Committee also conducted a transcribed
interview with Chris Schmitter, former Chief of Staff to
Governor Walz. After nine transcribed interviews, there is no
evidence to suggest that Governor Walz and Attorney General
Ellison ignored or covered up fraud concerns in Minnesota and
no evidence to suggest Minnesota failed to investigate fraud
and hold fraudsters accountable.
Mr. WALKINSHAW. Mr. Speaker, this report outlines some of the facts
related to Minnesota and the harm done by the Trump administration's
freezing of Federal funds in a number of States where law-abiding
Americans who pay their taxes aren't getting the benefits that they
have earned because the Trump administration has frozen funds.
I appreciate the gentleman's willingness to always engage and discuss
these issues in a serious way and, as he said, follow the story
wherever it leads. We have had in the Oversight Committee Governor Walz
and AG Ellison.
I would just like to ask the gentleman whether he would be willing to
bring to the Government Operations Subcommittee some of the Governors
of the States that I outlined, where massive fraud has taken place:
Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida.
Can we bring any of those Governors before our committee to talk
about the fraud in their States?
Mr. Speaker, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from Texas (Mr.
Sessions).
Mr. SESSIONS. This resolution that we are going to vote on today
highlights fraud in Ohio, a Republican-led State. It is right in the
report. It is right here.
This Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has also had an
ongoing investigation, including Medicare fraud in Ohio. The committee
held a hearing on that Medicaid fraud in Ohio just last week. Just last
week, both the staffs were aware of that, and we brought in Ohio State
officials to testify to get them on record just like we did, as the
gentleman knows, in Minnesota and other States. I appreciate the
gentleman asking the question.
Mr. WALKINSHAW. Reclaiming my time, Mr. Speaker.
Another significant incident of fraud that isn't mentioned in the
resolution, and that we haven't mentioned yet today, took place in the
State of Texas, where the Attorney General, Ken Paxton, was indicted
for securities fraud, and he had to pay $300,000 in restitution and
perform community service to avoid potential jail time.
[[Page H4094]]
Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the gentleman: Would you be willing
to ask Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to come before our committee
to talk about fraud in Texas?
Mr. Speaker, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from Texas (Mr.
Sessions).
Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I will answer that question, and the
answer is clear: The State of Texas that has that authority and
responsibility did that in extensive hearings and extensive reports
that led up to action by the State of Texas officially in the
legislature to bring him before them, and he has answered every
question he could have answered. It is on the record and there for all
the world to see.
Mr. WALKINSHAW. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time.
It doesn't sound like we are going to bring any other Governors or
State officials before the committee. As I noted, Governor Walz was
with us for many, many hours, but no other Governors have come before
us. I think that does a disservice to the American people who could
benefit from hearing about the fraud in some of these other States, as
well.
Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record the full text of the CBS News
article: ``Trump says he'll stop health care fraudsters. Last time, he
let them walk.''
[From CBS NEWS, April 1, 2025]
Trump Says He'll Stop Health Care Fraudsters. Last Time, He Let Them
Walk.
(By Brett Kelman)
Five years ago, the CEO of one of the largest pain clinic
companies in the Southeast was sentenced to more than three
years in prison after being convicted in a $4 million illegal
kickback scheme.
But after just four months behind bars, John Estin Davis
walked free. President Trump commuted Davis' sentence in the
last days of his first term. In a statement explaining the
decision, the White House said that ``no one suffered
financially'' from Davis' crime.
In court, however, the Trump administration was saying
something very different. As the president let him go, the
Department of Justice alleged in a civil lawsuit that Davis
and his company defrauded taxpayers out of tens of millions
of dollars with excessive urine drug testing. The DOJ alleged
that Comprehensive Pain Specialists made such a``staggering''
sum from cups of pee that employees had given the testing a
profit-minded nickname: ``liquid gold.''
Davis and the company denied all allegations in court
filings and settled the DOJ's fraud lawsuit without any
determination of liability. Davis declined to comment for
this article.
Since returning to the White House, Mr. Trump has said he
will target fraud in Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security,
and his Republican allies in Congress have made combating
fraud a key argument in their plans to slash spending on
Medicaid, which provides health care for millions of low-
income and disabled Americans. During an address to Congress
last month, Mr. Trump said his administration had found
``hundreds of billions of dollars of fraud'' without citing
any specific examples of fraud.
``Taken back a lot of that money,'' Mr. Trump said. ``We
got it just in time.''
But Mr. Trump's history of showing leniency to convicted
fraudsters contrasts with his present-day crackdown. In his
first and second terms, Mr. Trump has granted pardons or
commutations to at least 68 people convicted of fraud crimes
or of interfering with fraud investigations, according to a
KFF Health News review of court and clemency records, DOJ
press releases, and news reports. At least 13 of those
fraudsters were convicted in cases involving more than $1.6
billion of fraudulent claims filed with Medicare and
Medicaid, according to the Department of Justice.
And as one of the first actions of his second term, Mr.
Trump fired 17 independent inspectors general responsible for
rooting out fraud and waste in government.
It sends a really bad message and really hurts DOJ efforts
at creating deterrence,'' said Jacob Elberg, a former
assistant U.S. attorney and law professor at Seton Hall
University in New Jersey. ``In order to reduce health care
fraud, you need people both to be afraid of getting in
trouble, but also for people to believe in the legitimacy of
the system.''
Elberg said considerable fraud in Medicare and Medicaid
exists largely because the programs' ``pay-and-chase models''
prioritize paying for patient care first and tracking down
stolen dollars second. To prevent more fraud, the programs
would likely need to be redesigned in ways that would be
slower and more cumbersome for all patients, Elberg said.
Regardless, Elberg said the president's claimed focus on
fraud appears to be a pretext for slashing spending that has
been legally appropriated by Congress. Mr. Trump has
empowered the Elon Musk-led Department of Government
Efficiency, which he established and named by executive
order, to make deep cuts in federal budgets, halting some
medical research and aid programs in addition to cutting
spending on climate change, transgender health, and
diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.
``What's been the focal point to date of the administration
is not what anybody has ever referred to as health care
fraud,'' Elberg said. ``There is a real blurring--a seemingly
intentional blurring--between what is actually fraud and what
is just spending that they are not in favor of.''
Jerry Martin, who served as a U.S. attorney for the Middle
District of Tennessee under President Barack Obama and now
represents health care fraud whistleblowers, also said Mr.
Trump's focus on fraud appeared to be ``just a platform to
attack things that they don't agree with'' rather than ``a
genuine desire to root out and combat fraud.''
Even so, Martin said some of his whistleblower clients have
been emboldened.
``I've had clients repeat back to me `President Trump says
fraud is a priority,' '' Martin said. ``People are listening
to it. But I don't know that what he's saying translates into
what they believe.''
The White House did not respond to requests for comment for
this article.
A billion-dollar fraud case and needless eye injections
Presidents enjoy the unique authority to erase federal
convictions and prison sentences with pardons and
commutations. In theory, the power is intended to be a final
bulwark against injustice or overly harsh punishment. But
many presidents have been accused of using the pardon power
to reward powerful allies and close associates as they leave
the White House.
Mr. Trump issued about 190 pardons and commutations in the
final two months of his first term, including for some health
care fraudsters convicted of schemes with astonishing costs.
For example, Mr. Trump granted a commutation to Philip
Esformes, a Florida health care executive convicted in 2019
of a $1.3 billion Medicare and Medicaid fraud scheme. After
he was sentenced, DOJ announced in a press release that ``the
man behind one of the biggest health care frauds in history
will be spending 20 years in prison.'' Mr. Trump freed him 14
months later.
Mr. Trump also granted a commutation to Salomon Melgen, a
Florida eye doctor who was serving a 17-year prison sentence
for defrauding Medicare of $42 million. Melgen falsely
diagnosed patients with eye diseases, then gave them
unnecessary care, including laser treatments and painful eye
injections, according to DOJ and court documents.
``Salomon Melgen callously took advantage of patients who
came to him fearing blindness,'' said a DOJ news release
after Melgen was sentenced in 2018. ``They received medically
unreasonable and unnecessary tests and procedures that
victimized his patients and the American taxpayer.''
DOJ: $70 million spent on ``excessive'' urine testing
Despite the flurry of pardons and commutations at the end
of Mr. Trump's first term, the leniency he showed Davis was
unique. Davis was the only convicted health care fraudster to
receive clemency while the Trump administration was
simultaneously accusing him of more fraud.
As CEO of Comprehensive Pain Specialists from 2011 to 2017,
Davis oversaw a rapid expansion to more than 60 locations
across 12 states, according to federal court documents.
He was indicted in 2018 for using his CEO position to refer
Medicare patients in need of medical equipment to a
conspirator in return for kickbacks paid through a shell
company, according to court documents. He was convicted at
trial in April 2019 of defrauding Medicare.
Three months later, the DOJ filed a fraud lawsuit against
Davis and CPS that piggybacked on the claims of seven
whistleblowers. The lawsuit alleged that CPS collected more
than $70 million from federal insurance programs for urine
drug testing, most of which was ``excessive,'' and that an
audit of a sampling of the tests had found at least 93%
``lacked medical necessity.''
Typically, government insurance programs pay for urine
testing so pain clinics can verify that patients are taking
their prescriptions properly and not abusing any other drugs,
which could contribute to an overdose. Patients could be
tested as little as once a year or as often as monthly
depending on their level of risk, according to the DOJ
lawsuit.
But Comprehensive Pain Specialists performed ``myriad urine
drug testing on virtually every CPS patient on virtually
every visit'' then conducted ``at least 16 different types of
tests'' on each sample, and sometimes as many as 51,
according to the lawsuit.
Mr. Trump commuted Davis' sentence for his criminal
conviction in January 2021 as the DOJ was finalizing a
settlement in the civil lawsuit. The commutation was
supported by country music star Luke Bryan, according to a
White House statement.
Months later, with President Joe Biden in office, CPS and
its owners agreed to repay $4.1 million--less than 10% of the
damages sought in the suit--and the case was closed.
In the settlement, Davis agreed not to take any job where
he would ever again bill Medicare or other federal health
care programs. He was not required to personally repay
anything.
Martin, who represented one of the whistleblowers who first
raised allegations
[[Page H4095]]
against Davis and CPS, said the leniency that Mr. Trump
showed to him and other health care fraudsters may discourage
DOJ employees from pursuing similar investigations during his
second term.
``There are a lot of rank-and-file people who are operating
at the lowest point in their professional careers, where
they've seen a lot of their work essentially be water under
the bridge,'' Martin said. ``That's got to be really
demoralizing.''
Mr. WALKINSHAW. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record the full text of
a PBS News article: ``Trump's pardons included health care execs behind
massive frauds.''
[From PBS News, Jan. 22, 2021]
Trump's Pardons Included Health Care Execs Behind Massive Frauds
At the last minute, President Donald Trump granted pardons
to several individuals convicted in huge Medicare swindles
that prosecutors alleged often harmed or endangered elderly
and infirm patients while fleecing taxpayers.
``These aren't just technical financial crimes. These were
major, major crimes,'' said Louis Saccoccio, chief executive
officer of the National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association,
an advocacy group.
The list of some 200 Trump pardons or commutations, most
issued as he vacated the White House this week, included at
least seven doctors or health care entrepreneurs who ran
discredited health care enterprises, from nursing homes to
pain clinics. One is a former doctor and California hospital
owner embroiled in a massive workers' compensation kickback
scheme that prosecutors alleged prompted more than 14,000
dubious spinal surgeries. Another was in prison after
prosecutors accused him of ripping off more than $1 billion
from Medicare and Medicaid through nursing homes and other
senior care facilities, among the largest frauds in U.S.
history.
``All of us are shaking our heads with these insurance
fraud criminals just walking free,'' said Matthew Smith,
executive director of the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud.
The White House argued all deserved a second chance. One man
was said to have devoted himself to prayer, while another
planned to resume charity work or other community service.
Others won clemency at the request of prominent Republican
ex-attorneys general or others who argued their crimes were
victimless or said critical errors by prosecutors had led to
improper convictions.
Trump commuted the sentence of former nursing home magnate
Philip Esformes in late December. He was serving a 20-year
sentence for bilking $1 billion from Medicare and Medicaid.
An FBI agent called him ``a man driven by almost unbounded
greed.'' Prosecutors said that Esformes used proceeds from
his crimes to make a series of ``extravagant purchases,
including luxury automobiles and a $360,000 watch.''
Esformes also bribed the basketball coach at the University
of Pennsylvania ``in exchange for his assistance in gaining
admission for his son into the university,'' according to
prosecutors.
Fraud investigators had cheered the conviction. In 2019,
the National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association gave its
annual award to the team responsible for making the case.
Saccoccio said that such cases are complex and that
investigators sometimes spend years and put their ``heart and
soul'' into them. ``They get a conviction and then they see
this happen. It has to be somewhat demoralizing.''
Tim McCormack, a Maine lawyer who represented a
whistleblower in a 2007 kickback case involving Esformes,
said these cases ``are not just about stealing money.''
``This is about betraying their duty to their patients.
This is about using their vulnerable, sick and trusting
patients as an ATM to line their already rich pockets,'' he
said. He added: ``These pardons send the message that if you
are rich and connected and powerful enough, then you are
above the law.''
The Trump White House saw things much differently.
``While in prison, Mr. Esformes, who is 52, has been
devoted to prayer and repentance and is in declining
health,'' the White House pardon statement said.
The White House said the action was backed by former
Attorneys General Edwin Meese and Michael Mukasey, while Ken
Starr, one of Trump's lawyers in his first impeachment trial,
filed briefs in support of his appeal claiming prosecutorial
misconduct related to violating attorney-client privilege.
Trump also commuted the sentence of Salomon Melgen, a
Florida eye doctor who had served four years in federal
prison for fraud. That case also ensnared U.S. Sen. Robert
Menendez (D-N.J.), who was acquitted in the case and helped
seek the action for his friend, according to the White House.
Prosecutors had accused Melgen of endangering patients with
needless injections to treat macular degeneration and other
unnecessary medical care, describing his actions as ``truly
horrific'' and ``barbaric and inhumane,'' according to a
court filing.
Melgen ``not only defrauded the Medicare program of tens of
millions of dollars, but he abused his patients--who were
elderly, infirm, and often disabled--in the process,''
prosecutors wrote.
These treatments ``involved sticking needles in their eyes,
burning their retinas with a laser, and injecting dyes into
their bloodstream.''
Prosecutors said the scheme raked in ``a staggering amount
of money.'' Between 2008 and 2013, Medicare paid the solo
practitioner about $100 million. He took in an additional $10
million from Medicaid, the government health care program for
low-income people, $62 million from private insurance, and
approximately $3 million in patients' payments, prosecutors
said.
In commuting Melgen's sentence, Trump cited support from
Menendez and U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.). ``Numerous
patients and friends testify to his generosity in treating
all patients, especially those unable to pay or unable to
afford healthcare insurance,'' the statement said.
In a statement, Melgen, 66, thanked Trump and said his
decision ended ``a serious miscarriage of justice.''
``Throughout this ordeal, I have come to realize the very
deep flaws in our justice system and how people are at the
complete mercy of prosecutors and judges. As of today, I am
committed to fighting for unjustly incarcerated people,''
Melgen said. He denied harming any patients.
Faustino Bernadett, a former California anesthesiologist
and hospital owner, received a full pardon. He had been
sentenced to 15 months in prison in connection with a scheme
that paid kickbacks to doctors for admitting patients to
Pacific Hospital of Long Beach for spinal surgery and other
treatments.
``As a physician himself, defendant knew that exchanging
thousands of dollars in kickbacks in return for spinal
surgery services was illegal and unethical,'' prosecutors
wrote.
Many of the spinal surgery patients ``were injured workers
covered by workers' compensation insurance. Those patient-
victims were often blue-collar workers who were especially
vulnerable as a result of their injuries,'' according to
prosecutors.
The White House said the conviction ``was the only major
blemish'' on the doctor's record. While Bernadett failed to
report the kickback scheme, ``he was not part of the
underlying scheme itself,'' according to the White House.
The White House also said Bernadett was involved in
numerous charitable activities, including ``helping protect
his community from COVID-19.'' ``President Trump determined
that it is in the interests of justice and Dr. Bernadett's
community that he may continue his volunteer and charitable
work,'' the White House statement read.
Others who received pardons or commutations included Sholam
Weiss, who was said to have been issued the longest sentence
ever for a white collar crime--835 years. ``Mr. Weiss was
convicted of racketeering, wire fraud, money laundering, and
obstruction of justice, for which he has already served over
18 years and paid substantial restitution. He is 66 years old
and suffers from chronic health conditions,'' according to
the White House.
John Davis, the former CEO of Comprehensive Pain
Specialists, the Tennessee-based chain of pain management
clinics, had spent four months in prison. Federal prosecutors
charged Davis with accepting more than $750,000 in illegal
bribes and kickbacks in a scheme that billed Medicare $4.6
million for durable medical equipment.
Trump's pardon statement cited support from country singer
Luke Bryan, said to be a friend of Davis'.
``Notably, no one suffered financially as a result of his
crime and he has no other criminal record,'' the White House
statement reads.
``Prior to his conviction, Mr. Davis was well known in his
community as an active supporter of local charities. He is
described as hardworking and deeply committed to his family
and country. Mr. Davis and his wife have been married for 15
years, and he is the father of three young children.''
CPS was the subject of a November 2017 investigation by KHN
that scrutinized its Medicare billings for urine drug
testing. Medicare paid the company at least $11 million for
urine screenings and related tests in 2014, when five of CPS'
medical professionals stood among the nation's top such
Medicare billers.
Mr. WALKINSHAW. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record the CBS Miami
article: ``Florida Eye Doctor Salomon Melgen Gets Clemency From Trump
In Medicare Fraud.''
[From CBS News Miami, Jan. 21, 2021]
Florida Eye Doctor Salomon Melgen Gets Clemency From Trump in Medicare
Fraud
Rappers, a real estate investor convicted in a Ponzi scheme
and a once-prominent eye doctor were Floridians on former
President Donald Trump's clemency list hours before he exited
the presidency.
Trump commuted the sentence of Salomon Melgen, who was
convicted in 2017 of defrauding Medicare out of $73 million
by persuading numerous elderly patients to undergo tests and
get treatment for diseases they did not actually have.
Melgen was serving 17 years at a Miami prison, but was
released early on Wednesday, Jan. 20 after he was included on
a list of more than 140 people who were either pardoned or
had their sentences commuted by Trump during his last hours
in the White House.
A federal jury in New Jersey failed to reach a verdict
later in 2017 on charges that Melgen provided bribery gifts
to Democratic
[[Page H4096]]
Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey. A mistrial was declared in
that case.
A White House statement credited Menendez with supporting
clemency for Melgen, who was a donor to Democratic
politicians and a longtime friend of the Cuban-American New
Jersey senator. The statement said clemency for Melgen also
was supported by Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, a Florida
Republican, and members of Brigade 2506, the Cuban exile
group involved in the CIA-backed Bay of Pigs invasion in
1961.
``Numerous patients and friends testify to his generosity
in treating all patients, especially those unable to pay or
unable to afford healthcare insurance,'' the White House
statement said.
In a statement of his own, Menendez said he did very little
on Melgen's behalf and did not expect the clemency decision
from Trump. There's also scant evidence of any relationship
between Trump and Melgen.
``I don't pretend to know what motivates President Trump to
act, but I am pretty sure it's not me,'' Menendez said.
``Months ago, I was asked if I could offer insight about an
old friend, and I did, along with what I understand were more
than 100 individuals and organizations, including his former
patients and local Hispanic groups familiar with Sal's
leadership and philanthropy in the South Florida community.''
Melgen, originally from the Dominican Republic and a
Harvard-trained ophthalmologist, became a notable Democratic
fundraiser, hosting numerous events at his home in North Palm
Beach. He once treated former Florida Democratic Gov. Lawton
Chiles, who appointed him to a state board.
Others on Trump's clemency list included:
Rapper Lil Wayne, whose real name is Dwayne Michael Carter
Jr., was given a full pardon. The Grammy-winner was charged
in Florida on Nov. 17 with possession of a firearm by a
convicted felon, a federal offense that carries a potential
sentence of up to 10 years in prison.
Rapper Kodak Black, whose real name is Bill K. Kapri, was
granted a commutation. The ``Tunnel Vision'' rapper is
serving a three-year prison sentence for falsifying documents
used to purchase weapons at a Miami gun store.
Fred Davis Clark Jr. had his 40-year prison sentence
commuted. He was convicted in 2016 of falsely promising his
company could turn dilapidated properties in Florida, Las
Vegas and the Caribbean into luxury resorts that would bring
investors fat returns. In reality, the operation was a Ponzi
scheme that used money from new investors to pay existing
ones while Clark took millions off the top.
Mr. WALKINSHAW. That does come up in the resolution.
Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a Kaiser Family Foundation
Health News article: ``Trump's Health Fraud Focus at Odds With Past
Pardons.''
Trump's Health Fraud Focus at Odds With Past Pardons
Since returning to the White House, President Donald Trump
has made combating fraud a centerpiece of his administration.
Trump has said he will target fraud in Medicare, Medicaid,
and Social Security programs, and his Republican allies in
Congress have made combating fraud a key argument in their
plans to slash Medicaid. Trump also has empowered the Elon
Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency to make massive
cuts to government spending, often claiming to snuff out
fraud and waste in the process.
Trump's present-day crackdown starkly contrasts with his
history of showing leniency to convicted fraudsters. In his
first and second terms, Trump has granted pardons or
commutations to at least 68 people convicted of fraud crimes
or interfering with fraud investigations, according to a KFF
Health News review of court and clemency records, Department
of Justice press releases, and news reports. At least 13 of
those fraudsters were convicted in cases involving more than
$1.6 billion in fraudulent claims filed with Medicare and
Medicaid, according to the DOJ.
In interviews with KFF Health News, two experts on health
care fraud said that Trump's claimed focus appears to be a
pretext for slashing spending that was legally appropriated
by Congress.
``What's been the focal point to date of the administration
is not what anybody has ever referred to as health care
fraud,'' said Jacob Elberg, a former assistant U.S. attorney
and law professor at Seton Hall University. ``There is a real
blurring--a seemingly intentional blurring--between what is
actually fraud and what is just spending that they are not in
favor of.''
Jerry Martin, who served as a U.S. attorney for the Middle
District of Tennessee under President Barack Obama and now
represents health care fraud whistleblowers, said Trump's
stepped-up interest may embolden informants to come forward.
``I've had clients repeat back to me `President Trump says
fraud is a priority,' '' Martin said. ``People are listening
to it. But I don't know that what he's saying translates into
what they believe.''
Even so, Trump's past leniency to fraudsters might
discourage the Justice Department from pursuing the
whistleblowers' claims, Martin said.
``There are a lot of rank-and-file people who are operating
at the lowest point in their professional careers, where
they've seen a lot of their work essentially be water under
the bridge,'' Martin said, ``That's got to be really
demoralizing.''
The White House did not respond to requests for comment.
Mr. WALKINSHAW. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman knows that not only am I
open to this, but my door is open in my office. It is open for a
reason. It is open for a reason, not just for those who might agree
with me, but for those who might disagree with me or those who might
want to do business. My door is open. My availability is there.
I believe that the issues today that we are trying to talk about are
fraud, not politics, and we have attempted to look at fraud where it
is. The gentleman knows where my office is, and he knows I am open.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from
Pennsylvania (Mr. Meuser).
Mr. MEUSER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for his leadership and
his commonsense approach to what is a very serious crisis facing our
country.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of Representative Fallon's antifraud
resolution, H. Res. 1335.
Frankly, opposition to this bill is hard to comprehend. Making
excuses, pretending that waste, abuse, and fraud do not occur, I can
just hear anyone watching this on C-SPAN. I can feel their head
shaking, wondering what this world is coming to.
{time} 0950
This resolution is pretty simple. It condemns fraudsters and
recognizes that governmentwide fraud and improper payment prevention
reforms are necessary to improve the fiscal health of the United
States. That is how it reads.
This includes all States. Let's not pretend it doesn't. From sea to
shining sea, this resolution is all that, according to the Government
Accountability Office. Nevertheless, according to the GAO, $1 trillion
of improper payments occurred under the Biden administration. Secretary
Bessent recently estimated that it was nearly $500 billion a year, so
even more than $1 trillion. That is the reality.
The House Oversight Committee's recent report, whether you like it or
not, found that Minnesota Governor Walz and his administration turned a
blind eye to massive fraud schemes.
Two of the most notorious examples were the ``Learing Center''--I am
sure you heard of it--and Feeding Our Future, which was set up to feed
hungry young children. People, criminals, stole from it. We are here
defending them? Fraud was allowed to grow for years while warning signs
were ignored.
In Los Angeles, Mr. Speaker, investigators have identified roughly
over $3 billion in hospice fraud. Thirty percent of the hospice bills
were going to one county, an L.A. County, for the entire Nation. We
have got people in this Chamber who are defending that somehow? In
other words, as I just stated, we don't need any words: One-third of
the Nation's hospice funds went to one county in the United States.
In my home State, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, where
unemployment, by the way, sits at 3.6 percent, 15 percent of the
residents are enrolled in SNAP. Yet, the program's recent error rate,
by the way, was 15 percent, pretty much the highest in the country,
making Pennsylvania one of the worst performing States in the Nation,
particularly considering our lower unemployment. Mr. Speaker, $463
million per year, in Pennsylvania alone, is not going to needy
families. It is being scammed.
From L.A. to Minneapolis to Pennsylvania, from sea to shining sea,
taxpayers are being forced to fund fraudsters in and out of our
government. It is stealing from every American who works hard and pays
taxes. Equally important, we need to stop these criminals who scam the
American taxpayer.
Mr. Speaker, as Chairman of the Financial Services Oversight and
Investigations Subcommittee, I have worked with banks, telecom
companies, regulators, law enforcement, and consumer groups to fight
fraud and scams.
I am working on legislation to strengthen criminal penalties for
fraud, require states to repay improper payments, and establish a
framework to better track fraud across the federal government.
Everyone in this chamber should be outraged by this level of fraud.
[[Page H4097]]
Anyone who is considering voting no on this resolution ought to think
about if they are going to be part of the solution or part of the
problem.
I urge passage and yield back.
Mr. WALKINSHAW. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, with respect to Minnesota--and this is laid out in the
report that I entered into the Record--the majority's own investigation
does not support the assertions that they make in their resolution here
today. Witnesses that were questioned did not support the claims that
Governor Walz or Attorney General Ellison directed anyone to ignore
fraud.
Instead, they describe the fraud controls, the law enforcement
partnerships, and the steps to stop fraudulent payments. Minnesota's
Medicaid Fraud Control Unit has prosecuted more than 300 cases and
recovered more than $80 million for taxpayers. Those prosecutions were
well underway long before the majority on the Oversight Committee took
any interest in the situation.
There is some more fraud that I haven't discussed yet today, and it
is taking place in the Trump administration. President Trump accepted a
$400 million plane from a foreign government, in my view, I think quite
clearly, in violation of the Constitution.
The Air Force then had to modify that plane to address security
concerns. Those modifications are estimated to cost a billion dollars.
The Air Force won't tell us. Taxpayers spent at least $1 billion to
modify the gifted jet that the President got from the Qatari
Government.
Maybe you would be okay with that if it was a gift to the United
States of America. What is going to happen to the plane in 2029? It
will be transferred to the Donald Trump Presidential Library
Foundation. Those transfer costs, to transfer the $400 million gift the
President took from the Qatari Government, were also paid for by the
taxpayers.
The taxpayers are getting a raw deal here, and President Trump is
getting a brand new, $400 million--I should say $1.4 billion--jet.
I haven't talked yet about the digital schemes. World Liberty
Financial was started by the Trump family in 2024. Most of the profits
flow directly to the Trump family. It is estimated they have profited
$1.6 billion. Where did that money come from? It came from people who
bought meme coins and have seen the value of those coins plummet.
Constituents maybe in my district or yours, Mr. Speaker, who have lost
money, that money is in the pockets of the Trump family.
I haven't gotten into the conflicts of interest, the stock trades,
the prediction market profits.
I heard the White House created a task force to prevent fraud. This
White House and this Cabinet are a task force to commit fraud. It is
well-documented.
I was reading the resolution, and one of the whereas clauses says:
``Whereas the Department of Justice has also discovered that $250
million meant for a child nutrition program was instead spent on luxury
cars. . . . '' That is bad. That is outrageous. Whoever did that should
be prosecuted.
Mr. Speaker, I wonder if it would surprise my friends on the other
side of the aisle to know that President Trump's Department of Homeland
Security, under the leadership of Secretary Noem, spent hundreds of
millions of dollars, not on luxury cars, but on luxury jets. They
bought, not one, but two of the top-of-the-line Gulfstream G700s.
Secretary Noem basically walked into the proverbial Gulfstream
dealership and said: I don't want the base model. That is not good
enough. I want the most expensive model, the biggest, with the softest
leather seats. I am not going to pay for it. I am going to send the
bill to the taxpayers, totaling hundreds of millions of dollars.
I have called on Secretary Mullin to sell those jets, recoup hundreds
of millions of dollars for the taxpayers and go back to flying the more
modest Gulfstream G550 that previous DHS Secretaries flew.
I wonder if the gentleman would join me in that request of Secretary
Mullin to sell the Gulfstreams and fly in a more modest jet, as
previous Secretaries have.
I share the outrage about this taxpayer money being spent on luxury
cars. Surely, we shouldn't be spending it on luxury jets.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from Texas (Mr.
Sessions).
Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman has an opportunity to bring
forth more than public data. He has the ability to go and take
testimony, to gather the information. I encourage the gentleman to do
that.
Mr. WALKINSHAW. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are again reminded to refrain from
engaging in personalities toward the President.
Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from
Indiana (Mr. Stutzman).
Mr. STUTZMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 1335 to
condemn the waste, fraud, and abuse of taxpayer dollars.
According to the Government Accountability Office, the Federal
Government loses between $233 and $521 billion annually to fraud. Think
of that, $233 billion to $521 billion annually to fraud.
That is up to $3,250 lost to fraud per taxpayer each year. That is
insulting to the American people. Americans work hard for their money,
and wasting Americans' paychecks to fraud is just unacceptable.
I strongly support Vice President Vance's work leading the task force
to eliminate fraud. The task force has already identified and halted
billions of dollars of waste to fraudulent healthcare services and
government contracts.
As a Member of Congress, we are entrusted to be stewards of taxpayer
dollars. I look forward to finding ways to eliminate waste, fraud, and
abuse on behalf of the American taxpayers.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his hard work. This is an
important issue that we must figure out in order to eliminate this
waste that the American taxpayers expect us to find, so we make sure
every dollar is being used wisely at the Federal Government level.
{time} 1000
Mr. WALKINSHAW. Mr. Speaker, I have no speakers, and I yield myself
the balance of my time to close.
Mr. Speaker, President Trump's pardons and commutations have wiped
away billions of dollars in victim restitution, forfeiture, and fines.
That includes people who have been pardoned who were convicted of
securities fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud, tax evasion, healthcare
fraud, and public corruption.
President Trump commuted the sentence of Lawrence Duran, who helped
lead a massive Medicare fraud scheme that generated hundreds of
millions of dollars in false claims and more than $87 million in
restitution.
He commuted Joseph Schwartz, whose nursing home empire collapsed
after years of neglect and fraud, leaving patients, workers, and
families devastated.
Let's not forget the $1.8 billion slush fund for January 6 cop
beaters, that he continues to try to put in place.
Let's be clear, Mr. Speaker, the other side wants to lecture us about
fraud. They stay silent as this administration lets convicted
fraudsters walk free and wipes away the money owed to victims and
taxpayers.
It doesn't stop there. As I noted, President Trump and his family
stand to personally and financially benefit from some of these actions.
In April of 2026, a drone manufacturer, backed by Eric and Donald
Trump, Jr., won its first DOD contract to supply drones to the
Pentagon, while their father and the President of the United States led
the country into an illegal war with Iran.
We have fraud being perpetrated on the American public with
memecoins, no-bid contracts, Tom Homan's alleged $50,000 paper bag of
money, insider trading in the White House, and the appearance, at
least, maybe more, of pardons for sale.
It is hard to take seriously this resolution, expressing to be
concerned about fraud, when there is massive fraud taking place and the
majority says and does nothing.
A serious anti-fraud agenda would strengthen inspectors general,
fully fund the Government Accountability Office, and protect
independent oversight. This resolution doesn't do that.
[[Page H4098]]
While oversight Democrats will oppose this partisan resolution, we
are going to continue to support legislation and continue to work in a
bipartisan way to combat financial fraud and improper payments, protect
the privacy of sensitive taxpayer information, toughen Federal ethics
laws, and hold fraudsters accountable, especially those that have been
pardoned by President Trump.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to oppose this resolution, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to
close.
Mr. Speaker, the American people and Members of Congress have heard
the story today: 200-plus pages of factual data, six hearings, and the
opportunity on a bipartisan basis to develop the facts of the case from
people's own testimony.
Today, we have a request for us to listen to the minority. This has
been done for the last year and a half; opportunity for hearings,
opportunity for their staff to develop the same kind of factually based
information, not public data, not something that they read somewhere
but to bring to the floor, to bring to the subcommittee and the
committee, the hard facts of the case.
Mr. Speaker, I think we have made our point today, and that point is
that there were people who were elected who chose not only to not
listen but, when people came forward who were whistleblowers, they took
retaliatory action against them. They have denied their involvement,
and, yet, the mounds of data suggest otherwise.
Mr. Speaker, I think today this subcommittee and this committee are
bringing forth, through Mr. Fallon's resolution, an opportunity to say
enough is enough. It should be a story that is told by every one of us.
We invite their vote.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. McDowell). All time for debate has
expired.
Pursuant to House Resolution 1345, the previous question is ordered
on the resolution and the preamble.
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that
the ayes appeared to have it.
Mr. WALKINSHAW. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further
proceedings on this question are postponed.
____________________