By ALAN WOOTEN | THE CENTER SQUARE
Reputation associated with his military record already shattered, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz now faces a reckoning tied to a signature education accomplishment – feeding schoolchildren – from a congressional committee chaired by a North Carolina congresswoman.
Called the “largest COVID-19 fraud scheme in the nation,” U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., on Wednesday sent a letter and subpoena to Walz and his state administration associated with the federal child nutrition programs and Feeding Our Future, and to the Biden administration’s U.S. Department of Agriculture and its Office of Inspector General.
Walz is Vice President Kamala Harris’s running mate on the Democratic ticket.
More than 70 individuals were charged in 2022 by a United States attorney for “roles in defrauding the USDA of $250 million in taxpayer funds – money intended to feed hungry children,” a release from the Committee on Education & The Workforce in the U.S. House of Representatives says. Five have been convicted, dozens await trial, with charges inclusive of but not limited to bribery, wire fraud, conspiracy and money laundering.
“As the chief executive and the highest-ranking official in the state of Minnesota, you are responsible for the MDE and its administration of FCNPs,” the letter from Foxx reads. “Statements in the press by you and your representatives indicate that you and other executive officers were involved, or had knowledge of, MDE’s administration of the FCNP and responsibilities and actions regarding the massive fraud.”
On the official website for the office of Minnesota governor, Walz touts an accomplishment in providing free breakfast and lunch at school for the state’s students. The program names involved in the charges are not included.
Walz has been a lightning rod of criticism for the Harris campaign since she picked him Aug. 6. He campaigned for years for Congress and governor falsely representing his National Guard rank and place of service, even wrongly labeling a challenge coin; his record for actions during the COVID-19 era have drawn condemnation; and his handling of riots following the death of George Floyd drew criticism even from himself.
Foxx says letters dated Nov. 14, 2023, and June 14 requested information that shows Walz’ actions, and of other executive officers “were insufficient to address the massive fraud.”
The letter says to Walz, “When you were asked about your decision of not holding agencies accountable and if MDE employees would be disciplined, you replied, ‘This wasn’t malfeasance.’ You also stated, ‘There’s not a single state employee that was implicated in doing anything that was illegal.’”
Foxx said her committee has been “unable to obtain substantive responsive materials in the many voluntary requests made in this matter.”
In the letter to Minnesota Commissioner of Education Willie Jett, Foxx wrote, “On June 25, 2024, and August 9, 2024, the committee received two additional productions of documents. Despite these productions, the documents and information provided to the committee do not explain how your agency and the USDA failed to identify what has been described as the largest pandemic fraud in the nation. The MDE’s production of information has been neither timely nor fully responsive. Accordingly, the committee is invoking compulsory process.”
The USDA funds the Child and Adult Care Food Program and the Summer Food Service Program under the state agency-administered Federal Child Nutrition Program. States set up contracts, and then request reimbursement.
The state of Minnesota – meaning its Education Department – is the administrator in the process, including for funds and meal sites. Feeding Our Future is the nonprofit approved by the Education Department.
The charges tied to the quarter-billion dollars relate to money spent on luxury vehicles, real estate and “other unlawful purchases,” a release says.