GOP lawmakers in Congress ask USDA for info on meal programs

Seventh District Congresswoman Michelle Fischbach and three Minnesota colleagues are among U-S House Republicans asking U-S-D-A for information on how it administers its meals programs, sparked by the 250-million-dollar fraud scandal at Feeding Our Future.

Fischbach says it’s “critical that Congress conduct extensive oversight and ensure proper safeguards are in place to protect taxpayer funds from future fraud and abuse.”  Sixth District Congressman Tom Emmer says “fraud on this level is proof that exploitation is the norm for large-scale government spending, not the exception.”  Eighth District Congressman Pete Stauber says “rampant fraud and abuse… is a disgrace to our state.”  First District Congressman Brad Finstad says it’s “reprehensible that taxpayer money intended for feeding the hungry… was deliberately misused… right in our home state.”

Republicans have accused the Walz administration of lax oversight.  The governor responds the state tipped off federal investigators to the fraud.