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This is an iHeart podcast.
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We found snappercipients had more than 2,000 Tesla owners,
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200 alpha Romeo owners, more than 144
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that receiving food stamps were driving porches.
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Before we had no accountability on any of these programs,
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we now are requiring accountability.
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The blue states are suing us.
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They don't want to share the data.
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You're listening to the 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson.
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Good Friday. Morning. Nice to have you with us on the 47 Morning Update.
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And we've got a massive story for you.
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You will not believe just how much fraud and abuse there is
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with food stamps in this country or known as SNAP benefits.
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And it's all been set up for there to be waste fraud and abuse
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by the Democratic Party.
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Why? Simply to buy votes.
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So how easy is it to get food stamps?
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Well, you can be a multi-millionaire.
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Yeah, you can drive a Lamborghini or Ferrari.
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And we've got the receipts.
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It's the 47 Morning Update.
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And it starts right now. Story number one.
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When Donald Trump was elected, he promised he was going to root out
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waste, fraud, and abuse.
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We have learned just how corrupt our government actually is.
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We've learned that Medicare and Medicaid, there's massive fraud.
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Hospice care, massive fraud.
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We have learned that it's in food stamps.
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And now the foundation for government accountability
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has exposed even more.
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Explaining now that millionaires and lottery winners
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are collecting food stamps.
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You heard that right.
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Under a massive, purposely created federal loophole,
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it is now possible for millionaires and lottery winners
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The best way you can describe this is it is fraud by design.
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And this is not protecting the needy.
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It is costing taxpayers hundreds of millions,
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which then turns into billions of dollars.
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And it's all called broad-based categorical eligibility.
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That is how they have now turned this entire system
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into a fraudulent system on purpose.
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And when I say they, I'm talking exactly
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about the Democratic Party.
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I want you to listen carefully to how broad-based categorical
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eligibility works, because it may sound boring,
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but it's costing you countless tax dollars every single year.
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Today, one in eight people are enrolled
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in taxpayer-funded food stamps.
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This program was designed to help the truly needy.
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But thanks to a federal loophole known
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as broad-based categorical eligibility or BBCE,
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more than 40 states are exploiting the program,
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giving food stamps to millionaires, lottery winners,
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and millions of recipients with more than enough resources
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to buy their own groceries.
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In fact, millions of food stamp recipients
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exceed the federal asset or income limits.
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Roughly one in five of those enrollees
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have $100,000 or more in assets.
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This loophole is no accident, it's fraud by design.
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Federal law requires states to check asset limits
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for anyone applying for food stamps.
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If your assets are too high, you don't qualify.
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But here's where the BBCE work around comes in.
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If someone is deemed eligible to receive
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other welfare benefits, they automatically qualify
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And states have fully weaponized this loophole.
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They created new types of welfare benefits,
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like pamphlets, flyers, and hotlines,
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not to provide aid, but to legally bypass income
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Let me just be clear about what you just heard.
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States decided that there can be simple things
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that you can be given, that then categorize
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and qualify you as receiving government aid.
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So if you received a pamphlet on good parenting,
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single parenting, how to have a baby,
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or to not have a baby, any government pamphlet
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that they have deemed to be government aid,
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then you at that exact moment are automatically eligible
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That's why there's so many recipients
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through the BBCE requirements
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that actually have no business receiving these SNAP benefits
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because it's all about exposing and going around
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the traditional rules.
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They have wide discretion at a state level
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And then they wanna make sure that as many people
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in their state can get into these programs.
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Most recipients, by the way, of food stamps are not wealthy,
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but what we're witnessing is most are also not poor.
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And many of these families can afford their own groceries,
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but because they were given a pamphlet from the government,
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that these state deems as you guessed it,
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a state benefit or government benefit,
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then automatically you are then eligible for food stamps.
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Now, this is why there needs to be massive reform
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because if you win the lottery
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or you're a multi-millionaire,
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my tax towers should not be paying for your groceries.
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As long as someone qualifies to receive a pamphlet,
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they are categorically eligible for food stamps.
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It's really that easy.
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This is fraud and mismanagement at the highest level.
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And the consequence is that it drives up the cost
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for taxpayers and threatened benefits for the truly needy.
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It's time for states to close the BBC e-group hole.
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Learn more at thefga.org.
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Now, this was one of the most powerful one-minute
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in 42nd videos I've ever seen
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because not only does it explain exactly what's happening here,
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but now you understand why you and I should be paying attention
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So let's move to what we now know.
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The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
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that's known as SNAP is now being reported
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that it is experiencing the highest levels of fraud and theft
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the system has ever seen.
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Estimates are now suggesting that there are losses up to,
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okay, this is the, this is the guesstimates,
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the estimates that there are now losses of your tax dollars
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that are being gone through fraud and abuse and theft
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of more than $20 billion annually.
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That is prompting increased federal, state,
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and law enforcement action by the Trump administration,
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something that they promised.
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Now, the key aspects of the current SNAP abuse they're saying
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is number one, massive EBT theft skimming.
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What does that mean?
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Criminal organizations are heavily targeting
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beneficiaries by using illegal skimming devices
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to then clone EBT cards.
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That results in hundreds of millions in stolen benefits
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each and every year.
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Then there is trafficking.
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What is trafficking?
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It's the illegal sale of your SNAP benefits for cash.
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It's become a significant issue.
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Many times you'll get $100, for example,
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a food stamps right on your SNAP card
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and somebody will buy those from you for $30, $40, $50,
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whatever the market rate is that day in the black market.
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There's also improper payments.
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The program is seeing what they describe
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as a massive increase in improper payments.
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With a 12% rate reported in the fiscal year 2024,
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that is often they say due to administrative errors
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or failure to verify data.
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Then you have the fraudulent activity types.
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Investigations are uncovering individuals collecting benefits
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in not one state, but in multiple states simultaneously.
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Using the identities of deceased individuals
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and misrepresenting their household income
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There's also what we've now learned today,
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a new aspect to this and it's costing you
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also millions of dollars.
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There's international crime involvement.
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Investigations are now exposing
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that international criminal organizations
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are involved in stealing benefits to fund
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other illicit activities.
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And then there's another type of fraud
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that apparently is massive, that no one has been policing.
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And that is retail fraud.
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Some retailers have been implicated in now schemes
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where they exchange snap benefits for cash,
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with some cases involving hundreds of thousands of dollars
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at a single location.
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Now the USDA's Food and Nutrition Services
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is now working, they say, to replace stolen benefits
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and also improve EBT card security,
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including moving towards chip technology
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that we're currently not using.
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We also know at the Office of Inspector General
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and the Secret Service are conducting targeted operations.
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They say to combat EBT fraud, but that is not enough,
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which brings us back to the woman who's in charge
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Secretary Brooke Rollins said in just one state,
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there were 14,000 individuals,
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and this was a Republican state
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that was receiving snap benefits.
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And the people that were receiving them
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were driving luxury vehicles.
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Ferraris, Bentley's, Lamborghini's, Maserati's,
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more than 140 Porsche's, more than 244 Alfa Romeo's,
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more than 306 Land Rovers.
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And where are the fraudsters coming from the most?
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They're a bunch of low-climbers.
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They've drive more than 2,090 Teslas.
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Here's part of what she had to say about the fraud
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and just how bad it's gotten.
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She was sharing previously, no data was shared.
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We had no idea where the taxpayer, dollars were spent,
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just one red state, the recent dump of data.
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We found snap recipients had more than 2,000 Tesla owners,
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200 Alfa Romeo owners, more than 144
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that were receiving food stamps were driving Porsche's.
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Again, this is the data dumps we're getting
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because before we had no accountability
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on any of these programs, we now are requiring accountability.
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The blue states are suing us.
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They don't want to share the data.
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And can you imagine this was a red state
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where there is actually some taxpayer accountability?
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Imagine what's happening in the blue states
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if that's happening in the red state.
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I go back over those numbers.
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In a conservative state, you had 14,000 individuals
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receiving snap benefits that were driving
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Three were driving Bentley's, four Ferrari's,
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11 Lamborghini's, 59 Maserati's, 141 Porsche's,
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244 Alfa Romeo's, 306 Land Rovers
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and over 2,000 Teslas.
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These individuals, by the way, know what they're doing.
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They're taking advantage of you and I, the American taxpayer.
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And now what we're seeing is offense.
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Not only is Brooke Rawlings working together
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with the VP, the vice president who's in charge
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of this task force to eliminate fraud,
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but they now say that 4.3 million Americans
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have been moved off of the snap benefits,
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but they say unfortunately there's more work
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that needs to be done.
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Now let's just go back to that for a second.
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4.3 million Americans have been moved off of food stamps.
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That's how much fraud they were able to find quickly
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Now we're moving, she put out an statement,
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the new Food and Nutrition Administration out of DC
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and into the heartland where it belongs.
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That also could change the leadership getting rid
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of the woke ideology in Washington DC.
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They say they're shifting staff close to those they support
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and making us more efficient and responsive
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to the millions of families that are touched
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by the USDA's nutrition programs.
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They say it's gonna deliver faster and better service
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for families who need nutrition assistants
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and stronger support for American farmers
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who grow the food for their tables.
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Saying quote, we are laser focused
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on serving the American people with greater efficiency
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and this reorganization will do just that.
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That is great news.
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As there's another headline that says USDA
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announces the Food and Nutrition Administration
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formally the Food Nutrition Services and actions
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will be moved to better serve the states.
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That is what should be happening each and every day.
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Now let's go back to the fraud for just a moment.
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The USDA's Food and Nutrition Services,
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they say this is costing you
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and this is what they're admitting to, billions of dollars.
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It's pretty simple because Democrats have decided
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that it's the best thing they can do
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is bribe voters to vote for them
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by allowing them to take these fraudulent benefits.
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So if we know that's what the left is doing
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and they're handing out these benefits to buy votes
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then this issue is front and center
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right now going into the midterms.
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Congress, the good news is is doing something about it.
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They're debating massive snap reforms.
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New laws that would tighten work requirements nationwide.
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Lawmakers also looking for cost savings and fraud reduction
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and they're going after the BBCE
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because the single biggest lever to shrink snap enrollment
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would be getting rid of that massive loophole.
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Were you getting quote government aid?
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Yes, a pamphlet on anything from the state government
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automatically qualifies you for food stamps.
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Now Republicans are saying it's time to reform.
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You got to get rid of the loophole.
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It enables waste, it enables fraud
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and it is enabling exactly what Donald Trump said
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They want to reinstate the asset tests.
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Lower income thresholds are what matter.
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They want to tighten eligibility.
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Democrats of course are saying no.
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They believe that this is a lifeline to buying votes.
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They say if you push millions off of food stamps
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that could be millions of their voters that would disappear.
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Now of course they're going to play the emotional game.
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They're going to say that Republicans
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are trying to star people, especially children
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and any form of like reform that means cuts.
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Democrats are going to use to their advantage.
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Get ready for it, it's going to happen.
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So as we move forward, I wanted you to know about this program.
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I wanted you to understand the loophole
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and I wanted you to understand why
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this is so important going into the midterms.
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For the President of the United States Americans say,
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hey, you shouldn't get food stamps
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just because you got a government pamphlet
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or you even got a hotline number in some states.
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Yes, even getting a phone number of a government agency
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is considered government assistance.
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That should not make you eligible for food stamps period
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and the reason why 46 states are doing this
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is because they're all trying to get their piece of the pie.
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They're trying to get some of their money
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as fast as they can from the federal government
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and they don't even care if it's going out
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for waste fraud and abuse.
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Now luckily the President has a chance to fix this
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and Republicans better do their job
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and that's exactly why I hope you'll take everything
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I just gave you and share it wherever you can
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around the country.
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Thank you for listening to the 47 Morning Update
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Please make sure you hit subscribe
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wherever you're listening to this podcast right now
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and for more in-depth news,
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also subscribe to the Ben Ferguson podcast
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and we will see you back here tomorrow.