{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.ricketts.senate.gov/news/press-releases/senator-ricketts-weekly-column-combatting-fraud-waste-and-abuse-will-preserve-our-nation/", "Senator Ricketts\u2019 Weekly Column:\u00a0Combatting Fraud, Waste and Abuse Will Preserve Our Nation", "2026-07-17", "2026", "2026-07", "Republican", "Senate", "NE", "Pete Ricketts", "R000618", "www.ricketts.senate.gov", "ricketts", "https://www.ricketts.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/?jsf=jet-engine:press-list&pagenum=", "scraper", "Nebraskans are honest, trusting people. We expect others to behave the same way. However, that\u2019s not always the case.\n\nToo many people are stealing and abusing tax dollars. These people lie and cheat to line their own pockets. In some cases, they send stolen money overseas. This illegal behavior drives up the cost of living. It also burdens programs meant to help Americans who need it. Too many politicians made stealing from the government easy. I\u2019m fighting to put an end to this fraud, waste, and abuse.\n\nThe Trump Administration has unearthed widespread misuse of government resources. In Minnesota and California, we\u2019ve learned of extensive fraud and abuse. A federal prosecutor found that at least half of the Medicaid funding for 14 Minnesota-run programs was stolen. That\u2019s at least $9 billion in taxpayer money. In one case in California, over $50 million in Medicare benefits were stolen. This is just one example of pervasive fraud and abuse in California. Los Angeles County alone accounts for about 34% of hospice care fraud in the U.S. CBS News found that 93% of Los Angeles County hospice care providers have at least one indication of fraud. Funds meant to support those in hospice are being used for personal gain.\n\nEven in Nebraska, our state auditor has found abuse. People live in homes worth half a million dollars and receive paychecks over $100,000. Then, they draw benefits from the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Program. WIC wasn\u2019t designed for those folks. WIC is a safety net designed to help women, infants, and children in need. We must stop people from abusing this program. They are taking away resources from the people who need them.\n\nTo build on these efforts, I co-founded the new Senate Anti-Fraud Task Force. We are identifying vulnerabilities in existing programs. We\u2019re strengthening government accountability. And we\u2019re ensuring proper stewardship of taxpayer dollars. The Government Accountability Office looked at fraud between 2018 and 2022. They estimated that between $233 billion and $521 billion a year in taxpayer money was stolen. We are working to stop this bleeding of taxpayer dollars.\n\nI also have a bipartisan bill to increase transparency on improper federal payments. Improper payments are when the government overpays or underpays. It\u2019s also when they pay the wrong person. The Improper Payments Transparency Act would require the President to provide data on improper payments in the annual budget request. Transparency brings accountability. My bill is included in the Protecting American Taxpayers Act. This is a legislative package to combat fraud. We expect to vote on it soon.\n\nThe Working Families Tax Cuts also fights against fraud. We placed work and eligibility requirements on Medicaid and SNAP. We did this to prevent abuse of American taxpayer dollars. Medicaid and SNAP should benefit moms and children, the elderly, and the disabled. That\u2019s who these programs were created for. These reforms ensure that dead people do not remain enrolled in Medicaid. They also make sure that people cannot be enrolled in multiple states.\n\nAs we often do, Nebraska led the nation on these reforms. To receive Medicaid, able-bodied Americans without young kids will need to be productive. These people will have to contribute to their community by working, volunteering, or studying for 20 hours a week. These requirements are less restrictive than what is currently required for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. That\u2019s not too much to ask. These requirements will help preserve the programs for who they were designed for. They will also increase workforce participation and save taxpayers $250 billion.\n\nWe also tightened requirements on illegal immigrants. Our system was never intended to subsidize non-Americans. There were over 1.2 million illegal immigrants receiving Medicaid benefits. These reforms make sure only Americans can receive government assistance.\n\nFraudsters have stolen from Nebraskans and the American people for too long. I am working to combat fraud, waste, and abuse. We need to protect Americans, our tax dollars, and our values. This is how we preserve our great nation for another 250 years.", 1, "2026-07-18T06:58:50Z", "2026-07-18T07:00:34Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.ricketts.senate.gov/news/press-releases/senator-ricketts-weekly-column-combatting-fraud-waste-and-abuse-will-preserve-our-nation/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.8062688652426004, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}