U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D., Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, expanded his investigation into fraud involving federal child care funding on Apr. 2. Cassidy said the effort aims to protect American families and ensure taxpayer dollars are not misused.
The issue is significant because improper payments in federally funded child care assistance programs can result in millions of dollars being wasted each year. High rates of waste have been identified in Rhode Island, Delaware, North Carolina, and Georgia with improper payment rates ranging from over 11 percent to more than 28 percent. In contrast, Texas reported a much lower rate at just 0.4 percent.
“Child care fraud is a nation-wide issue. We need to smoke it out everywhere,” said Dr. Cassidy. “President Trump and I are committed to protecting families who pay into and rely on federally funded child care assistance programs.”
Cassidy previously investigated governors including Tim Walz of Minnesota, Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Tina Kotek of Oregon, and Kathy Hochul of New York as part of his efforts against misuse of federal funds for child care programs.
As chairman during the 119th Congress,according to the official website, Cassidy leads the committee responsible for legislation on public health, education policy, workforce issues and retirement programs across the United States.The committee also oversees key agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and National Institutes of Health (NIH).It provides oversight for federal laws affecting health and labor.The committee influences regulations that impact Americans nationwide.
Cassidy has launched a committee task force focused on stopping fraud in federal funding for child care assistance programs and held hearings related to this issue.
