Establishing the Task Force To Eliminate Fraud

Key Points

• Trump is creating a Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, chaired by the Vice President, housed within the Executive Office of the President. The group will coordinate a national strategy to stop fraud, waste, and abuse in federal benefit programs including food stamps, Medicaid, housing aid, and cash assistance.
• The order targets states accused of using loopholes, allowing self-certification of eligibility, and refusing to share enrollee data with the federal government. It specifically names Minnesota, California, Illinois, New York, Maine, and Colorado as states where fraud problems are believed to exist.
• Federal agencies must identify their most fraud-vulnerable processes within 30 days. Within 60 days, the Task Force will coordinate adoption of minimum anti-fraud requirements, and states that don't comply could lose federal funding.
• The order ties immigration policy to benefits fraud, claiming that lax immigration enforcement has allowed ineligible immigrants to access welfare programs, and directs the Task Force to coordinate with the Homeland Security Council on related law enforcement and transnational crime matters.
• The Attorney General is directed to promote private whistleblower lawsuits (False Claims Act qui tam actions) against those committing fraud in federal benefit programs, and to ensure prompt review of these cases within statutory timelines.

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