This spring the White House launched the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, the largest-ever governmentwide effort to root out fraud, waste and abuse from federal programs. Led by Vice President JD Vance, the working group set out with an admirable, and long overdue, mission — to close loopholes exploited by fraudsters, enforce eligibility rules, and protect taxpayers and beneficiaries.

In just its first three months, the Task Force identified billions of stolen taxpayer dollars. Vance reported last month that the group recovered $160 billion from fraudulent small business loans, falsified and misappropriated COVID-19 stimulus payments, and sham student loans, among other federal programs.

Who could object to reining in this kind of rampant fraud, which hurts everyone except the criminals who prey on vulnerable citizens? Apparently, Democrats.

Last week, 177 House Democrats voted against a resolution that condemns the bad actors who defraud government programs and that supports eligibility verifications before federal program payments are made. The resolution was the kind of congressional action that any leader committed to fiscal accountability should support, no matter their party.

But the left isn't interested in stewarding taxpayers' money. Under former President Joe Biden, Democrats turned a blind eye to government fraud and waste. They accepted it as part of their big-government, big-spending agenda, allowing perpetrators to run amok.

The left's opposition to accountability reveals its socialist agenda for what it is — a lie. They are not interested in ensuring government benefits help those in need. Their incentive is to consolidate power in a centralized government and seize ordinary Americans' freedom to decide for themselves how to use their resources — even if it means forking over tax dollars to crooks, illegal immigrants and foreign terror organizations.

The House's vote reveals how out of sync Democrats are with hardworking families. In a recent survey, 87% of Americans said they are concerned about fraud or misuse of taxpayer money. More than four in five recognize that fraud contributes to higher taxes and greater costs for everyday individuals.

They're right. According to Government Accountability Office estimates, the federal government loses as much as $521 billion each year to fraud. That should infuriate honest taxpayers, who are effectively handing out half a trillion dollars to criminals who game the system.

Sadly, this public-coffers pilfering is enabled by liberal-controlled states, which refuse to enact meaningful oversight.

A recent House Oversight Committee report revealed how in Minnesota — where a scheme orchestrated by Somali nationals stole $9 billion from social programs - Gov. Tim Walz neglected to stop payments and investigate phantom providers, despite knowing about the problem. His office allegedly even retaliated against whistleblowers who tried to sound the alarm.

Just this month, the Trump administration halted federal funding and decertified Hawaii's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit — the lowest-performing fraud control unit in the country. The agency obtained no criminal indictments for Medicaid fraud or patient abuse and neglect between 2022 and 2025, even as enrollment increased 40%.

In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed bills to require tracking and accountability of its massive homeless programs or to implement an independent state watchdog to prevent systemic financial misconduct. As a result, not even state agencies know how much they spend on homelessness, or whether it's working, and under "Newsom's Empire of Fraud," California has lost $180 billion to fraud.

Americans should hope the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud is successful in implementing real guardrails to protect taxpayers, and under Vance's leadership, there is every reason to believe it will.

However, the Trump administration's short-lived Department of Government Efficiency initiative shows what happens next. The bureaucracy will wait them out. If the war on fraud ends the day a new president takes office, the fraudsters come right back.

Real reform requires permanent structures: Standing inspectors general with real authority, automated data-matching across agencies to track payments, prosecutorial pipelines that don't depend on which party holds the White House, and laws that hardwire accountability into the system.

The Task Force to Eliminate Fraud is the police force we need to clean up the halls of power. But the real story will be whether policymakers put in place the controls to stop the abuse over the long haul. Let's hope they do.

Ken Buck served in the United States House of Representatives from 2015-2024 representing Colorado's 4th congressional district. He now serves as a Fellow with the Independent Center. To find out more about Ken Buck and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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