XPost: mn.politics, alt.fraud, alt.culture.somalia   
   XPost: sac.politics, talk.politics.misc   
   From: noreply@mixmin.net   
      
   The 2026 legislative session has gotten off to a fast start this week.   
   One of the first orders of business? Formally deleting a fraud-riddled   
   program from Minnesota’s state law books.   
      
   On Wednesday, lawmakers in the Human Services Committee of the Minnesota   
   House of Representatives heard HF 3379, a bill repealing the Housing   
   Stabilization Services (HSS) program. HSS is one of the many examples of   
   how bad fraud has gotten in Minnesota.   
      
   Before it was shut down by the Minnesota Department of Human Services   
   (HSS) last year, the HSS program reimbursed businesses for helping   
   “people with disabilities, including mental illness and substance use   
   disorder, and seniors find and keep housing.”   
      
   In 2021, the housing assistance program cost $20 million. By 2024,   
   program costs had ballooned to over $100 million. The program, which was   
   funded with federal dollars, was shuttered last August after DHS   
   determined HSS had been pillaged by fraudsters.   
      
   DHS closed the HSS program after seeking and obtaining approval to end   
   the Medicaid-funded program from the federal government.   
      
   Federal prosecutors have brought charges against multiple people who   
   allegedly defrauded the HSS program. HSS was one of 14 state-run,   
   Medicaid-funded programs that are now considered at “high-risk” for   
   fraudulent activity.   
      
   Authored by Republican State Rep. Joe Schomacker, HF 3379 would formally   
   remove the HSS program from state law. By removing the program from the   
   law books, Schomacker’s bill would ensure the program cannot be rebooted   
   without legislative input.   
      
   Explaining his bill to the Human Services Committee, Schomacker said the   
   intent of his bill was to strip the HSS program from state law so that   
   when it is recreated, the Minnesota Legislature will have a say in how   
   the new version of the program works.   
      
   During discussion of the bill, DFL State Rep. Mohammed Noor offered an   
   amendment to HF 3379 that would keep DHS from ending a program like HSS   
   without legislative approval.   
      
   In turn, Schomacker offered an amendment to Noor’s amendment which   
   stipulated that DHS can end programs like HSS if there are “credible   
   allegations of fraud.”   
      
   DFL State Rep. Brion Curran criticized Schomacker’s amendment, saying it   
   would codify DHS’ ability to unilaterally shut down programs established   
   in law. She also said DHS “royally screwed this process up by just   
   deciding to terminate programs.”   
      
   Curran criticized the Walz Administration for working with the federal   
   government to shut down HSS.   
      
   Ultimately, Noor withdrew his amendment, saying he wanted to have more   
   conversations about the matter. That withdrawal meant Schomacker’s   
   amendment was void. As such, HF 3379 would still accomplish its   
   originally-intended purpose of repealing the HSS program.   
      
   In a voice vote, HF 3379 was advanced by the committee and sent to the   
   general register of the Minnesota House. The general register is   
   typically the last stop for legislation before it is taken up by the   
   full House.   
      
   https://alphanews.org/legislators-advance-bill-to-formally-strip-fraud-ri   
   ddled-program-from-state-law/   
      
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