Free Republic

“PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — Recent federal changes are expanding work requirements for some Oregonians who receive SNAP food benefits, prompting state agencies to urge recipients to connect with free job search and training help through WorkSource Oregon. The Oregon Department of Human Services and the Oregon Employment Department said more people who receive SNAP must now show they are working, looking for work or participating in training to continue receiving benefits”

President Trump referred to public benefits fraud in Massachusetts during his State of the Union address Tuesday night, promising a “war on fraud” after several SNAP schemes were uncovered in the Bay State along with recent whistleblower allegations of a lackluster response by state officials. “There’s been no more stunning example than Minnesota. Where members of the Somali community have pillaged an estimated $19 billion from the American tax bill, we have all the information. And in actuality, the number is much higher than that,” said Trump. “And California, Massachusetts, Maine, and many other states are even worse. This is...

I grew up in a military family and lived on military bases most of my early life, five years of which were spent on Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. Honestly, it was the most Americana place I’ve ever lived. Think Mayberry surrounded by minefields. Thankfully we didn’t often encounter the minefields, but we knew they were there. Fourth of July was always the biggest day of the year. We had parades with tanks and marching bands and floats and classic convertibles with pretty girls waving from the back. The rest of the day would be filled with motocross races and boxing...

The following post features the TRANSCRIPT of a 2 min video clilp from the House Oversight committee meeting on January 7, 2026, investigating Somali fraud in Minnesota.https://x.com/ksorbs/status/2023510195247140995 Feb 16, 2026~~~~TRANSCRIPT BEGINSRep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas): Mr. Ballou, again thank you for being here. Let me ask you, does large scale Somali immigrationMake Minnesota stronger or weaker?Brendan Ballou (former DOJ Special Counsel): Certainly stronger.Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas): Certainly stronger. Do you know what percentage of Somali headed housholds in Minnesota are on food stamps?Brendan Ballou: No.Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas): 54%. Do you know what that number is for native Minnesota headed households?Brendan...

A Democratic state auditor is taking Massachusetts legislative leaders, including members of her own party, to court after uncovering nearly $12 million in alleged fraud in public assistance programs, seeking to enforce a voter-approved audit law. "What are they hiding? If there's nothing to hide, open up the doors, let the sun shine in. Let's do this audit," Massachusetts State Auditor Diana DiZoglio said on "Saturday in America." DiZoglio, a Democrat and former member of both the Massachusetts House and Senate, is filing a complaint with the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court to enforce a 2024 ballot measure that authorized her...

Republicans and Democrats alike decry the lack of oversight for America’s famous antipoverty experiment. ‘Fraud by design.’ When the Trump administration targeted billions of dollars in federal welfare funds recently over fraud concerns, it singled out five Democratic-run states.An examination by The Wall Street Journal found that the main federal aid program the administration is seeking to block, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF, has long been plagued by poor financial oversight and questionable spending in states led by both Republicans and Democrats.Auditors in numerous states, including Connecticut, Louisiana and Florida, have uncovered problems with TANF—once America’s primary welfare...

Four Massachusetts residents are accused of using more than 100 stolen identities to get over $1 million in food stamps and pandemic-era unemployment benefits in a multi-state fraud scheme, federal prosecutors say. U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Leah Foley said stolen identities from Connecticut, Florida, Kentucky, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Puerto Rico were used to obtain $440,000 in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits from Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The defendants also allegedly submitted fraudulent documents in order to receive more than $700,000 in Pandemic Unemployment Assistance from Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Washington and Nevada. --snip-- Three defendants charged...

The House of Representatives passed a $1.2 trillion funding deal to end the four-day partial government shutdown Tuesday, sending it to President Trump’s desk for his expected signature. Lawmakers voted 217-214 to pass the compromise funding package, which cleared the Senate late Friday and keeps about 97% of the government operating through Sept. 30. Now Congress faces a 10-day scramble to negotiate a deal to fund the Department of Homeland Security before its key agencies run out of cash Feb. 13, a timeline Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) described as “an impossibility.” *** The GOP holdouts were mainly miffed...

@RandPaul The Somali fraud exposed a broken system. Instead of reform, Washington spent $5B more. If Republicans can’t cut a fraction of the deficit, they aren’t serious about debt. See how your senator voted:

A freelance journalist reported on billions of dollars stolen from welfare programs in Minnesota. Congress did not uncover this scandal; a member of the public did. How did Congress respond? Did they open their own investigation, or claw back money from Minnesota? No, they simply decided to spend another $5 billion on welfare. If Congress cared so much about addressing welfare fraud of the kind found in Minnesota, why is the Senate considering a spending package that includes yet another $5 billion in taxpayer funded welfare for refugees? Can Democrats and big government Republicans be so obtuse as to propose...

The Most Socialist System in America Is the One Feeding Us—and It’s FailingAmerica loves to debate socialism. We argue about universal healthcare, guaranteed income, student loan forgiveness, and government dependency. We pride ourselves on our rugged independence and belief in free markets. We warn that socialism destroys innovation, freedom, and personal responsibility. But here’s the uncomfortable truth most Americans never stop to consider: the most centrally planned, government-dependent, subsidy-driven system in the United States isn’t medicine, housing, or energy—it’s food.Our food system is not a free market. It is not capitalism in any recognizable form. It is a government-engineered economy...

Somali colonists have stolen as much as $9 billion from US taxpayers in Minnesota alone. That is only the tip of the iceberg. Combining open borders with the welfare state has predictably produced the largest looting spree the world has ever seen. Consider Afghans. Via Breitbart: Census data shows that almost all Afghan households with children are on publicly funded welfare — similar to that of Somali immigrant households with children in Minnesota, where 81 percent of such households are on at least one form of welfare. Eighty-five percent of Afghan households with children are on welfare. The more offspring...

Every year, the U.S. Census Bureau publishes the Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances. This is the country’s only source for state and local spending data, allowing a detailed state-by-state comparison. The survey also divides spending data into categories, making it possible to analyze which public services states prioritize. Overall, public welfare is the largest expenditure for most states. However, the level at which states prioritize assistance programs over other public services, such as roads and police, differs. Minnesota, for instance, has a massive welfare system, dedicating a larger share of its revenue to assistance programs than most...

The overwhelming majority of households headed by Afghan immigrants with children in the home are on one or more forms of taxpayer-funded welfare in the United States, newly released analysis reveals. The analysis, published by Jason Richwine at the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), reviews Census Bureau data on Afghan immigrants in the U.S. — an immigrant group that has exploded from just 22,000 in 1990 to almost a quarter of a million as of 2024.Most significantly, the Census data shows that almost all Afghan households with children are on publicly funded welfare — similar to that of Somali immigrant...

Two Boston men were arrested and charged with fraud that authorities say raked in so much Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) money that their tally began to outpace legitimate supermarkets. The men — Antonio Bonheur, 74, and Saul Alisme, 21 — allegedly operated their scams out of two small variety stores in the Mattapan neighborhood, according to the Department of Justice (1). Despite their small size and limited food offerings, these stores allegedly reported extremely high SNAP redemption volumes that went “far beyond what could reasonably be supported by legitimate food sales.” “To be certain, these were not supermarkets. They...

According to Census data from 2022, Wisconsin has the 25th highest percentage of single-parent households among the states and the District of Columbia. The Badger Institute has published several reports and news articles about family structure in Wisconsin and how it has changed over time: A piece by Marie Rohde in 2018 discussed why both older and younger people are deciding to stay single.A piece by Michael Jahr accompanied both those, showing how the idea of marriage is now becoming a foreign concept to some.We published a policy brief in 2019 on the marriage penalty in Wisconsin’s earned income tax...

@SenRandPaul I just introduced the End Welfare for Non-Citizens Act to ensure taxpayer-funded benefits are reserved for Americans. This bill ends federal funding for programs like TANF, Medicaid, and SNAP for illegal immigrants, refugees, asylees, and new entrants. A recent massive fraud scheme—estimated by federal prosecutors to reach $9 billion, shows exactly why we must do more to protect American taxpayers from theft and abuse. Safeguarding public funds is more urgent than ever. The fraud involved dozens of individuals—many from Minnesota’s Somali community, who set up businesses and non-profits claiming to provide housing, food, or healthcare assistance, then billed federally...

A US asylum seeker has been living in Britain with free accommodation and benefits for more than a year in the first case of its kind. The man, from Las Vegas, fled to the UK claiming he was being persecuted because he is black, Jewish and a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints – the Mormon Church. He was put up in migrant hotels before his claim was rejected last summer. However, he has not been removed from the UK, and subsequently he was allowed to claim thousands of pounds in accommodation, food and state support....

The State Department has announced a sweeping pause on immigrant visa processing for applicants from 75 countries, effective January 21. This decision comes as the administration ramps up efforts to enforce long-standing rules against admitting individuals likely to depend on public benefits. Officials cite the need to overhaul screening processes that have allowed potential abusers of taxpayer-funded programs to slip through in the past. *** The affected nations include Somalia, Russia, Afghanistan, Brazil, Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Nigeria, Thailand, and Yemen, among others. Consular officers have been directed to deny visas under existing law, with only narrow exceptions after thorough public...

A federal judge on Wednesday blocked President Donald Trump's administration from withholding $80 million to administer Minnesota's food stamp program while the state reviews the eligibility of 100,000 households amid claims ​of widespread fraud.