{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.ricketts.senate.gov/news/press-releases/video-combatting-fraud-waste-and-abuse/", "VIDEO: Combatting Fraud, Waste, and Abuse", "2026-07-16", "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", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Yesterday, during his weekly press call with Nebraska media, U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE) discussed his work in the Senate to combat fraud, waste, and abuse. Ricketts also highlighted how the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act will lower the cost of housing and make the Good Life more affordable.\n\n\u201cToo 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,\u201d said Ricketts. \u201cThis 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.\u201d\n\nWatch the video here.\n\nTRANSCRIPT: \u201cFirst, let me share an update on the housing bill.\n\n\u201cAs of Friday, the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act is officially law.\n\n\u201cThis is the most comprehensive housing bill to pass Congress in 36 years.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s a real achievement to cut through the red tape and regulation that drives up housing costs.\n\n\u201cFor example, HUD and USDA have grant programs that they don\u2019t work together on.\n\n\u201cThis bill will require them to work together in a streamlined manner to get their processes to get out the money faster.\n\n\u201cThe housing law will also get rid of the requirement for manufactured homes to have a trailer or chassis.\n\n\u201cThis regulatory requirement was from 50 years ago.\n\n\u201cRemoving this requirement knocks off about $10,000 from the cost of manufactured homes.\n\n\u201cIt will also get rid of the requirement to do environmental reviews on infill sites where these reviews have already happened.\n\n\u201cWe don\u2019t need to duplicate things that have already been done.\n\n\u201cThese are just a few examples of how this law will streamline the process of building a home to be able to help bring down the cost of homes.\n\n\u201cWith that, let\u2019s move on to what we are working on this week, which is addressing fraud, waste, and abuse.\n\n\u201cNebraskans are honest, trusting people.\n\n\u201cWe expect others to behave the same way.\n\n\u201cHowever, that\u2019s not always the case.\n\n\u201cToo many people are stealing and abusing tax dollars.\n\n\u201cThese people lie and cheat to line their own pockets.\n\n\u201cIn some cases, they send stolen money overseas.\n\n\u201cThis illegal behavior drives up the cost of living.\n\n\u201cIt also burdens programs meant to help Americans who need it.\n\n\u201cToo many politicians made stealing from the government easy.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m fighting to put an end to this fraud, waste, and abuse.\n\n\u201cThe Trump Administration has unearthed widespread misuse of government resources.\n\n\u201cIn Minnesota and California, we\u2019ve learned of extensive fraud and abuse.\n\n\u201cA federal prosecutor said that at least half of the Medicaid funding for 14 Minnesota-run programs was stolen.\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s at least $9 billion in taxpayer money.\n\n\u201cIn one case in California, over $50 million in Medicare benefits were stolen.\n\n\u201cThis is just one example of the pervasive fraud and abuse in California.\n\n\u201cLos Angeles County alone accounts for about 34% of hospice care fraud in the U.S.\n\n\u201cA CBS News study found that 93% of Los Angeles County hospice care providers have at least one indication of fraud.\n\n\u201cFunds meant to support those in hospice are being used for personal gain.\n\n\u201cEven in Nebraska, our state auditor has found abuse.\n\n\u201cPeople live in homes worth half a million dollars and receive paychecks for over $100,000.\n\n\u201cThen, they draw benefits from the Women, Infants, and Children or WIC Program.\n\n\u201cWIC wasn\u2019t designed for those folks.\n\n\u201cWIC is a safety net designed to help women, infants, and children in need.\n\n\u201cWe must stop people from abusing this program and taking away resources from the people who it was meant for.\n\n\u201cTo build on these efforts, I co-founded the new Senate Anti-Fraud Task Force.\n\n\u201cWe are identifying vulnerabilities in existing programs.\n\n\u201cWe\u2019re strengthening government accountability.\n\n\u201cAnd we\u2019re ensuring proper stewardship of taxpayer dollars.\n\n\u201cThe Government Accountability Office looked at fraud between 2018 and 2022.\n\n\u201cThey established between \u2014 they estimated rather, that between $233 billion and $521 billion a year in taxpayer money was being stolen.\n\n\u201cWe are working to stop this bleeding of taxpayer dollars.\n\n\u201cI also have a bipartisan bill to increase transparency on improper federal payments.\n\n\u201cImproper payments are when the government overpays, underpays, or pays the wrong person.\n\n\u201cThe Improper Payments Transparency Act would require the President to provide data on improper payments in the annual budget request.\n\n\u201cTransparency brings accountability.\n\n\u201cMy bill is included in the Protecting American Taxpayers Act.\n\n\u201cThis is a legislative package to combat fraud, and we expect to vote on it soon.\n\n\u201cThe Working Families Tax Cuts also fights against fraud.\n\n\u201cWe placed work and eligibility requirements on Medicaid and SNAP.\n\n\u201cWe did this to prevent abuse of American taxpayer dollars, like what we are seeing in Nebraska.\n\n\u201cMedicaid and SNAP should benefit moms and children, the elderly, and the disabled.\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s who these programs were created for.\n\n\u201cThese reforms ensure that dead people do not remain enrolled on Medicaid.\n\n\u201cThey also make sure that people cannot be enrolled in multiple states.\n\n\u201cAs we often do, Nebraska led the nation to pursue work requirements for Medicaid expansion members.\n\n\u201cTo receive Medicaid, able-bodied Americans without young kids will need to be productive in their community.\n\n\u201cAmericans will have to contribute to their community by working, volunteering, or studying for 20 hours a week.\n\n\u201cThese work requirements are less restrictive than what is currently required for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF, program.\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s not too much to ask.\n\n\u201cThese requirements will help preserve the programs for who they are designed for\n\n\u201cThese will also increase participation in the workforce and save taxpayers about $250 billion.\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s a win-win-win.\n\n\u201cWe also tightened requirements on illegal immigrants.\n\n\u201cOur system was never intended to subsidize non-Americans.\n\n\u201cThere were over 1.2 million illegal immigrants receiving Medicaid benefits.\n\n\u201cThese reforms make sure only Americans can get government assistance.\n\n\u201cFraudsters have stolen from Nebraskans and the American people for too long.\n\n\u201cI am working to combat fraud, waste, and abuse.\n\n\u201cWe need to protect Americans, our tax dollars, and our values.\n\n\u201cThis is how we preserve our great nation for another 250 years.\u201d", 1, "2026-07-17T07:15:58Z", "2026-07-17T07:17:05Z"]], "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/video-combatting-fraud-waste-and-abuse/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.375420019030571, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": 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