Vice President JD Vance is urging Congress to codify stronger anti-fraud protections into law, expressing concern that a future administration could dismantle the work of the White House Anti-Fraud Task Force. During a roundtable discussion at the White House on Wednesday, Vance highlighted the task force's achievements and stressed the need for legislative action to ensure their lasting impact.
The task force has identified $230 billion in fraudulent funds disbursed through taxpayer-funded benefit programs and has successfully prevented at least $56 billion from reaching scammers, Vance reported. He emphasized that the task force's efforts are inherently limited unless Congress cooperates in enacting new laws. "We don't want the next administration, whoever, you know, God forbid you're gonna have President El-Sayed in three years... we don't want him to undo all the incredible work that we've been doing," Vance stated, referring to Michigan Senate Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed, who has been critical of the task force.
Although only Republican lawmakers attended the roundtable, Vance expressed hope for bipartisan support in drafting legislation that would impose stricter penalties for fraud and enhance data sharing between federal and state governments. He specifically pointed to concerns regarding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), citing instances where, without greater transparency from certain states, non-citizens may be receiving benefits. "If the state of California gives those food stamp benefits to an illegal alien — to a violent criminal — the federal government has no visibility, and sometimes the states themselves have no visibility," Vance said.
According to the National Immigration Law Center, at least five states—California, Illinois, Minnesota, Maine, and Washington State—offer some form of SNAP eligibility to non-citizens. Vance called for legislation that would mandate data sharing between state and federal governments and advocated for more severe penalties for individuals convicted of fraud. "We'd like to change those statutes and actually make it harder for people to commit fraud and make sure that when they do commit fraud, they go to jail and they go to jail for a long time," he added.
Recent cases, such as the Feeding Our Future scam which defrauded taxpayers of $250 million intended for needy children, have resulted in lengthy prison sentences. However, Vance and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller noted that some fraudsters have absconded with millions in federal benefits without serving jail time. The House is currently in recess, and the Senate is expected to recess soon, with both chambers set to reconvene in September. Discussions then will include a government funding bill and a budget framework that includes supplemental funding for the U.S. military amidst the Iran war. It remains uncertain whether anti-fraud provisions will be incorporated into these upcoming legislative measures.