In a video message sent out to reporters on Thursday, U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) strongly criticized liberal leaders in "blue states," including Govs. Tim Walz (D-Minn.) and Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.), for enabling multi-billion-dollar fraud schemes tied to both education and health care, while also speaking about newly introduced legislation aimed at fighting what the lawmaker is calling "ghost students."
"We've seen billions of taxpayer dollars misused and going toward people who aren't even American citizens, especially in the woke blue states like Minnesota and California," Tuberville noted. "Radical governors like Tim Walz and Gavin Newsom have all but given a blank check to illegals at the courtesy of you, the American taxpayers. Tim Walz turned a blind eye as Somali immigrants set up fake daycare centers to steal more than 19 billion with a B tax dollars."
He continued, "A lot of this money went back to their countries of origin to fund terrorism against the United States. In California, we've seen billions of dollars in health care fraud, and it's all going mostly to illegals. We need to tackle this waste, fraud, and abuse from all corners."
Tuberville discussed new legislation aimed at mitigating student financial aid abuse, which also comes at the expense of American taxpayers. According to the lawmaker, the bill would target “ghost students,” a stolen or fabricated identity that impersonates a student to enroll in classes to fraudulently obtain federal and state financial aid.
"Last week, I announced another piece of targeted legislation with U.S. Senator John Husted that aims to crack down on those who are abusing the system when it comes to applying for student aid. These scammers collect 1000s of taxpayer dollars in grants and financial aid with no intention of getting a degree. They just take the money, and they run," explained Tuberville. "Often, they're involved in coordinated international networks. Not only are American taxpayers left holding the bill, but students who are actually showing up for classes and trying to earn a degree often pay the price as well. So, my and Senator Husted's Student Aid Fraud Oversight and Accountability Act would crack down on scammers by strengthening oversight when it comes to how federal aid is dispersed."
He added, "Our legislation would also give more authority to go after those criminals who are exploiting our financial aid programs."
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