The U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce has issued a subpoena for Democrat vice-presidential nominee Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN).
Committee Chair Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) penned a letter to Walz on Wednesday notifying him of the subpoena, which demands documents related to his “responsibilities and actions addressing the massive fraud” of taxpayer dollars allegedly by scores of folks affiliated with a nonprofit program. Punchbowl News appears to have first published the subpoena.
Seventy people involved with the program “Feeding Our Future” are accused of engaging in what the U.S. Attorney’s Office of Minnesota has “called a ‘brazen’ scheme to steal $250 million during the pandemic from government programs to feed hungry kids,” Axios reported.
In June, the Office of Legislative Auditor (OLA) published a report criticizing the MDE’s “inadequate oversight of Feeding Our Future, which ‘created opportunities for fraud,’ and said it failed to act on warning signs in the meal programs,” the Minnesota Star Tribune reported in June.
In Minnesota, the state’s Department of Education (MDE) runs the federal child nutrition programs (FCNP), which many Feeding Our Future affiliates allegedly defrauded. The MDE receives reimbursement for the programs from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. As governor, Walz is “responsible for the MDE and its administration of FCNPs,” Foxx notes.
Foxx had sent two letters to the MDE “requesting information regarding its handling of” federal child nutrition programs and alleged fraud within Feeding our Future. While Minnesota has not provided the committee with “substantive responsive materials in the many voluntary requests made in this matter,” the material the committee has received indicates Walz’s and other executive officials’ actions “were insufficient to address the massive fraud,” according to the letter.
Foxx writes:
The Committee must now compel the production of responsive documents that will show the extent of the actions taken by you and your administration relating to MDE’s administration of the FCNP and the extent of your responsibilities and actions addressing the massive fraud that resulted in the abuse of taxpayer dollars intended for hungry children.
Moreover, Foxx points to press statements from Walz and representatives of his office that “indicate” he “and other executive officers were involved, or had knowledge of, MDE’s administration of the FCNP and responsibilities and actions regarding the massive fraud.”
She highlighted a statement Walz made regarding his decision to allegedly not hold relevant agencies to account in contrast with a statement from a spokesperson for Walz who said his administration has taken “corrective actions” recommended by the OLA:
When you were asked about your decision of not holding agencies accountable and if MDE employees would be disciplined, you replied, “This wasn’t malfeasance.”7 You also stated, “There’s not a single state employee that was implicated in doing anything that was illegal. They simply didn’t do as much due diligence as they should’ve.”8 According to press reports, however, one of your spokespersons said your administration “has already made many of the corrective actions suggested by the OLA [Office of the Legislative Auditor] and taken ‘strong steps to find and eliminate any remaining vulnerabilities in government programs.’”9
Walz must produce the requested materials by noon on September 18.