Health and Human Services Assistant Secretary Alex Adams, who oversees the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), told Newsmax on Wednesday that funds will be sent to states only when they can justify the payment.
Adams said the $9 billion welfare fraud scandal in Minnesota has impacted all Americans.
"One of the programs that's under investigation is called the Child Care Development Fund," Adams said on "Finnerty."
"American taxpayers are sending $185 million to Minnesota each year to be used for child care support and to help individuals get into the workforce," Adams added.
"When that money is not going to children, if it is taken by fraudsters, it's not going to its purpose," Adams continued. "Americans deserve accountability for those dollars."
ACF is taking multiple steps to ensure that money being sent to states is not being stolen, Adams said.
A tip line has been set up at childcare.gov to report fraud, waste, and abuse.
"In the first couple hours that that was live, we received over 75 reports spanning multiple different states," Adams said.
ACF activated the "Defend the Spend" initiative, under which the agency will send money to states only when there is photo evidence or a receipt that justifies the payment, such as payroll receipts or evidence of attendance for vouchers.
Adams said they sent a letter to Minnesota requesting information on a handful of specific daycares believed to have engaged in fraud.
"We asked specifically for licensing inspection reports," Adams said. "We asked for internal records of potential fraud that has been investigated."
Adams criticized Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz for overseeing what many are calling the biggest fraud scandal in America.
"He isn't going to take action," Adams said. "We'll certainly take it seriously and take action."
Previously letters had been sent to the state asking for information about where subsidies were being allocated but they never received a response, Adams said.
"We had to send a new letter asking for additional information and doing a temporary freeze until information can justify the payments that are going out," Adams said.
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Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.
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