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Admin Withholding Safety Net Money 01/07 06:11
(AP) -- President Donald Trump's administration said Tuesday that it is
withholding funding for programs that support needy families with children in
five Democratic-led states over concerns about fraud.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the
program, will require the states to provide extra documentation to access the
funds.
"Families who rely on child care and family assistance programs deserve
confidence that these resources are used lawfully and for their intended
purpose," HHS Deputy Secretary Jim O'Neill said in a statement.
The administration has not laid out details about the fraud allegations.
HHS said in a statement evening that it "identified concerns that these
benefits intended for American citizens and lawful residents may have been
improperly provided to individuals who are not eligible under federal law."
Five states -- California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota and New York -- are
targeted, and the HHS said they had been notified.
Gov. Kathy Hochul said earlier in the day that New York is prepared to take
the administration to court, as Democratic-led states have done scores of times
now.
"We'll fight this with every fiber of our being, because our kids should not
be political pawns in a fight that Donald Trump seems to have with blue state
governors," she said.
The plan to withhold the funds was first reported by the New York Post.
Programs aim to help needy children and their families
The targeted programs provide lifelines to some of the neediest Americans:
-- The Child Care and Development Fund subsidizes day care for low-income
households, enabling parents to work or go to school.
-- Temporary Assistance for Needy Families provides cash assistance and job
training so parents in poverty can afford diapers and clothes and earn
paychecks.
-- The Social Services Block Grant, a much smaller fund, supports several
different social service programs.
"These resources support families in need and help them access food and much
more. If true, it would be awful to see the federal government targeting the
most needy families and children this way," Colorado Gov. Jared Polis' office
said in a statement.
Trump himself has not spoken on the specifics, but he proclaimed on social
media Tuesday: "The Fraud Investigation of California has begun."
Tara Gallegos, a spokesperson for California Gov. Gavin Newsom, said via
email that "Donald Trump is a deranged, habitual liar whose relationship with
reality ended years ago." She also defended California's record on stamping out
fraud in government programs.
New York Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand said Trump's move to halt
funding aims to score political points, not to stop fraud.
"It's our job to serve the people most in need and most at risk -- no matter
what state they live in or what political party their family or elected
representatives belong to," she said in a statement. "To use the power of the
government to harm the neediest Americans is immoral and indefensible."
Trump administration amplifies fraud claims
For months the has claimed that federally funded programs are being
defrauded and used that assertion as a rationale to hold up money.
Federal child care funding has been on hold in Minnesota since late last
month amid investigations into a series of alleged fraud schemes at day care
centers run by people with family roots in Somalia.
In the fallout, HHS officials said no state will receive child care funds
without providing more verification. Several states have told The Associated
Press that they have not received any guidance on that decision.
The administration also raised fraud claims involving SNAP, the country's
main food aid program, saying it would halt administrative money to states --
most Democratic-run ones -- unless they provide requested details on
recipients. That process could take months.
The administration has said the information provided by most GOP-controlled
states shows fraud may be worse than previously believed, though it has not
provided the data or detailed reports.
Dr. Mehmet Oz, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services, told Fox News on Tuesday that his agency also plans to audit
Minnesota's Medicaid bills in search of potential fraud. He did not provide any
evidence of fraud that had been found.
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