Sen. Joni Ernst created a new surveillance system to prevent corporate fraud
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FIRST ON FOX: A senior member of parliament involved in reducing red tape will propose a plan that requires line item proof of every tax dollar from organizations that receive federal funding.
Sen. Joni Ernst said her move would prevent rampant fraud like the Minneapolis day care center killing spree, adding that it would help prevent taxpayer money from being wasted.
Ernst’s bill coincides with the White House announcing a federal anti-fraud task force led by Vice President JD Vance, where White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt told Fox News “a government-wide effort to fight fraud at the federal and state level” and fulfills another campaign promise.
CRUZ SHOWS CONSULTANCY MINNESOTA’S WAY ON BILL TO FORCE EVIDENCE BEFORE CHILD CARE PAYMENTS
A Quality Learning Center in Minnesota has been implicated in the state’s alleged child care fraud. (Madelin Fuerste/Fox News)
The COST (Cost Openness and Spending Transparency) Act will ensure that every government agency documents every project that uses taxpayer money, as Ernst prepares to lead the Senate’s Small Business Committee, which includes dogs like White Coat Waste and Open The Books.
“As I always say, if you can’t find waste in Washington, there’s only one reason – you haven’t looked,” Ernst told Fox News Digital.
“But after many years of fighting to hold Washington accountable, I’ve learned that you can’t stop what you can’t see. That’s why this Sunlight week, I’m leading the COST ACT to send a price to every single project the American public is along with the bill,” he said.
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Under the COST Act, suspected fraudulent businesses such as Minneapolis daycares would be required to report all of their federal income.
Such transparency would have exposed Minnesota fraudsters earlier, helping authorities catch fraudsters and tax evaders.
The official purpose of the COST Act is to “impose a public price tag on all projects supported by taxpayer dollars,” according to a copy obtained by Fox News Digital.
Any agency, individual or organization – including those within state and local government and recipients of federal research grants – must clearly report through press releases or other authorized documents any program or project conducted using federal funds, whether in whole or in part.
The recipient of taxpayer funds must report the percentage of total costs covered by federal funds, the dollar amount, and the portion privately funded.
Read the bill below. App users: Click here
It then directs the Office of Management and Budget — currently led by Director Russell Vought — to review a random sample of such recipients for enforcement purposes and publicly report its findings.
A source with knowledge of the law added that the work of Minneapolis citizen reporters who helped expose the “Quality Learning Center” and other suspected fraudulent daycare and medical services companies inspired the new requirement to give residents an outlet for their concerns.
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Vought’s office would have one year to develop an anonymous whistleblowing system, according to the bill.
“Calling taxpayers how and where their hard-earned money is spent exposes fraudulent spending, like what we saw at the Quality ‘Learning’ Center in Minnesota, so it can no longer sink into the shadows,” Ernst said in the account.
