{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.schmitt.senate.gov/media/press-releases/schmitt-leads-members-of-senate-anti-fraud-task-force-to-highlight-early-anti-fraud-successes-by-trump-admin-requests-information-to-support-continued-enforcement/", "Schmitt Leads Members of Senate Anti-Fraud Task Force to Highlight Early Anti-Fraud Successes by Trump Admin, Requests Information to Support Continued Enforcement", "2026-07-10", "2026", "2026-07", "Republican", "Senate", "MO", "Eric Schmitt", "S001227", "www.schmitt.senate.gov", "schmitt", "https://www.schmitt.senate.gov/media/press-releases/", "scraper", "U.S. SENATE \u2014 U.S. Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO) today led five members of the Senate Anti-Fraud Task Force in sending a letter to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald commending the Trump Administration\u2019s early anti-fraud efforts and requesting information to help Congress support and strengthen those initiatives moving forward.\n\nThe senators wrote, \u201cWe commend President Trump for the decisive action taken to establish the National Fraud Enforcement Division (NFED) and the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud. Fraud is theft from hardworking American families, and Vice President Vance\u2019s leadership as \u2018Fraud Czar\u2019 sends the right signal: this administration will no longer tolerate billions in organized theft from taxpayers through welfare programs, election schemes, contractor abuse, federally funded nonprofits, or elite institutions. The Senate Anti-Fraud Task Force is especially concerned with fraud schemes that undermine the constitutional foundations of self-government: honest elections, lawful citizenship, equal enforcement of federal law, federal-state cooperation, and Congress\u2019s ability to ensure taxpayer dollars are spent consistent with law.\u201d\n\n\u201cSince taking office, the Trump-Vance Administration has made clear that fraud enforcement is once again a federal priority. The Task Force and NFED have driven the recovery of nearly $1 billion in misused taxpayer dollars through aggressive enforcement actions across the country, including major takedowns of welfare and entitlement scams that clawed back hundreds of millions from fraudulent SNAP, Medicaid, and housing claims. Vice President Vance\u2019s spotlight on sponsored-immigrant benefit fraud has dismantled several high-dollar networks, while election-related prosecutions and voter-roll cleanups have secured convictions in interstate schemes. Particularly noteworthy are the swift actions against Minnesota-style operations. Large-scale, coordinated fraud networks involving daycare centers, nonprofits, and entitlement programs in Minneapolis that potentially diverted hundreds of millions, if not billions in federal funds. By targeting these interstate models head-on, the Task Force has sent a powerful message that no jurisdiction or network is above the law, delivering real money back to American taxpayers and protecting programs meant for working families. These tangible wins prove that America First enforcement works. The Task Force has already shown it will serve and protect the American people from fraudsters,\u201d the senators continued.\n\nIn the letter, the Senators request the following:\n\nComprehensive Quarterly Metrics: Data from January 20, 2026, onward (with FY 2026 and FY 2027 projections), broken down by category, including:\n\nWelfare/entitlement fraud (SNAP, Medicaid, TANF, unemployment, housing);\n\nElection-related fraud and voter-roll integrity efforts;\n\nContractor and procurement fraud;\n\nFor each, provide: cases opened, indictments, convictions, dollars recovered/restituted, and average sentences. Where applicable, please highlight particularly impactful cases, enforcement actions that demonstrate the strongest returns on taxpayer investment, or show a stark contrast from previous Administrations.\n\nElection Integrity, Citizenship, and Federalism: Status of voter-roll cleanups, specific election-fraud prosecutions, immigration-related fraud schemes, and examples of interstate schemes, including Minnesota-style operations. Detail any coordination with states on removing ineligible voters and any federal-state barriers, sanctuary policies, or information-sharing restrictions that impede enforcement.\n\nConstitutional and Federalism Implications: Please identify any fraud schemes, enforcement barriers, or jurisdictional conflicts that implicate constitutional governance, including election integrity, citizenship and immigration status, federal-state information sharing, sanctuary policies, equal enforcement of federal law, or Congress\u2019s ability to conduct oversight of federally funded programs. Please also identify any statutory gaps that prevent the Department from adequately enforcing federal law in these areas.\n\nHigh-Impact Schemes: Focused metrics and case summaries on:\n\nImmigrant-related and sponsored-alien fraud (benefits claimed by or for illegal immigrants or their sponsors);\n\nElite-institution schemes (universities, nonprofits, hospitals, Big Tech contractors, or large-scale operations).\n\nIdentify any sanctuary jurisdictions or federally funded entities obstructing enforcement.\n\nLegislative Path to Permanence: Detailed proposals to make the NFED a permanent standalone division with dedicated funding, nationwide jurisdiction, enhanced data-sharing, extended statutes of limitations, and mandatory minimums for large-scale taxpayer fraud.\n\n\u201cFraud is not merely a budgetary problem. When fraud corrupts elections, citizenship, federal programs, and equal enforcement of the law, it becomes a constitutional problem. Aggressive, transparent enforcement aligned with America First priorities will restore accountability and protect the institutions of self-government,\u201d the senators concluded.\n\nDownload the full letter HERE.\n\nSenators Tim Sheehy (R-MT), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), Ashley Moody (R-FL), Roger Marshall (R-KS), and Katie Britt (R-AL) joined Schmitt in sending the letter.\n\nLast month, Schmitt launched the Senate Anti-Fraud Task Force with a group of his Republican colleagues to unmask fraud and save taxpayer dollars.\n\n###", 1, "2026-07-11T07:10:48Z", "2026-07-11T07:14:29Z"]], "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.schmitt.senate.gov/media/press-releases/schmitt-leads-members-of-senate-anti-fraud-task-force-to-highlight-early-anti-fraud-successes-by-trump-admin-requests-information-to-support-continued-enforcement/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.794181928038597, "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"}