James Comer's new bills could curb federal fraud in Minnesota and California

By Fox News · Fox News

FIRST ON FOX: House Republicans say they’re ready to advance legislation that would crack down on widespread fraud in states like Minnesota and California. House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., introduced legislation on Thursday that would tackle fraud in federal programs by curbing premature disbursement to "high-risk" recipients, Fox News Digital has learned. His panel will mark up the two bills — the Stopping Fraudulent Payments Act and the Pre-Payment Fraud Prevention and Treasury Data Access Act — as soon as next Wednesday, a House Oversight Committee spokesperson told Fox News Digital. "Americans are fed up with this abuse and expect action from the government entrusted with their money," Comer said in a statement. "These long-overdue integrity measures will strengthen the federal payment system, and I look forward to advancing these bills next week at the Oversight Committee’s markup." COMER TARGETS WALZ IN NEW HOUSE INVESTIGATION, CITING NEARLY $1B IN ALLEGED MINNESOTA FRAUD Comer’s fraud prevention push comes after the oversight panel launched sweeping investigations into state-administered social services programs in Minnesota and California. The committee rolled out an interim report in March that found Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn., and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison knew for years that their state's federally-funded welfare programs were rife with fraud, but alleges they ignored whistleblowers' concerns when they attempted to bring up the problem. Fraudsters could have stolen at least $9 billion from Minnesota’s welfare programs, according to Comer’s probe. Federal prosecutors have charged at least 92 individuals in connection to the fraud schemes, most of whom are of Somali descent, and secured more than 60 convictions so far. The oversight panel also opened an investigation into "rampant taxpayer fraud" in California’s hospice programs in March. Comer’s legislation would seek to better protect taxpayer dollars upfront by stopping…