Senate Republican targets 3 blue states in child care fraud investigation
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FIRST ON FOX: A Senate Republican is expanding his child care fraud investigation beyond Minnesota to several other blue states.
Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Chairman Bill Cassidy, R-La., is expanding his fraud crackdown to include New York, Michigan and Oregon.
Cassidy initially launched the fraud hunt to target Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, demanding that the former vice presidential candidate provide receipts for child care-related grants and federal funds at the center of the Minnesota fraud scandal.
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Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., is expanding his investigation of child care fraud to several more blue states after targeting Minnesota earlier this year. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Now in letters to Democratic Governments. First captured by Fox News Digital, Kathy Hochul, Gretchen Whitmer and Tina Kotek, Cassidy, alleged that their states lead or lead the nation in improper payments in state-run child care assistance programs.
“Error rates of this magnitude raise significant concerns about both fraud prevention and access to child care for the families these programs are intended to serve, and underscore the need for strengthened program monitoring, enhanced internal controls, and greater transparency about how these programs are administered,” Cassidy wrote to each governor.
Citing Department of Health and Human Services data, Cassidy noted that New York had a payment error rate over 17% in fiscal 2024, Michigan’s rate was over 12% in fiscal 2025, and Oregon had an error rate over 35% in fiscal 2024.
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Minnesota Governor Tim Walz speaks in Minnesota. (Alex Kormann/Getty Images)
Cassidy requested similar receipts from each governor as he did from Walz, including how often the state conducts on-site monitoring, inspections or investigative visits to child care facilities that receive federal dollars. He gave each governor until March 30 to respond.
Their requests included a history of each state’s improper payment rates between fiscal years 2016 and 2025 and explanations of any significant changes.
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He asked what anti-fraud measures had been put in place since 2016, as well as action plans to prevent fraud, verify compliance and ensure payments were in line with the actual services provided.
The legislator also requested information on how federal funding was used, how states verified child care providers and subsidy recipients were monitored, and details of audits and investigations conducted since 2016, including whether fraud or improper payments were found.
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“Ensuring the integrity of child care assistance programs is critical not only to protect taxpayer dollars, but also to maintain public confidence in programs designed to support children and families,” Cassidy wrote.
