GOP lawmaker unveils WALZ Act after billions lost in Minnesota fraud scandal

Minnesota welfare fraud may exceed $9 billion The Big Weekend Show co-hosts dissect the alleged $9 billion Minnesota welfare fraud scandal. FIRST ON FOX: A Republican lawmaker has reacted to the massive unfolding fraud scandal in Minnesota with legislation aimed at preventing more taxpayer dollars from being wasted at the United States Department of Health and Human Services. Republican Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks has introduced the Welfare Abuse and Laundering Zillions Act, or the "WALZ Act," which would require the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General to open investigations into any HHS program that sees a 10% or greater increase in total payments over any six-month period within a fiscal year. Under the bill, HHS would no longer have discretion to ignore sudden billing increases that critics say often signal fraud schemes, particularly in large entitlement programs. The bill comes amid revelations in recent months that Minnesota’s federally funded health and nutrition programs were rife with fraud to the tune of potentially up to $9 billion, federal prosecutors said last week. OMAR ACCUSED BY GOP OPPONENT OF OPENING UP THE DOOR TO MASSIVE MINNEAPOLIS FRAUD: 'DEEP, DEEP TIES' Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn., walks near the Minnesota state capitol in St Paul on Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025. (Abbie Parr/AP Photo) Critics have made Walz the face of the scandal, given the fact that concerns over the fraud date back to 2019, when he took office and the inability of the state, of which he serves as the top executive, to tackle the problem over the last five years. "This is on my watch," Walz told reporters on Friday. "I am accountable for this. And more importantly, I am the one that will fix it." Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol on Dec. 16, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Alex Wong/Getty Images) Miller-Meeks told Fox News Digital the situation in Minnesota represents a "jaw-dropping failure of leadership." "This is what happens when soft-on-crime Democrats run the show: zero accountability, zero oversight, and taxpayers left holding the bag," the Iowa Republican continued. "The WALZ Act is named for a reason, to ensure this level of negligence can never be repeated anywhere else in America. This bill puts hard safeguards in place to protect taxpayer dollars, shut the door on scam artists, and bring real accountability back to government programs." CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP US Capitol Building at sunset. (Emma Woodhead/Fox News Digital) On Monday, a group of 98 Minnesota mayors raised concerns with state leaders and Walz in a letter about their state's fiscal policies, saying they have impacted their cities and residents, noting a disappearing $18 billion surplus and a projected $2.9 billion to $3 billion deficit for the 2028-29 biennium. Former federal prosecutor Joe Teirab, who briefly worked on the Feeding Our Future aspect of the fraud investigation, recently told Fox News Digital the fraud scheme was notable not only for its size, but for how easy it was...

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