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Senate DOGE leader moves to force ‘receipt’ for every tax dollar after Minnesota fraud scandal
By Charles Creitz
Published March 18, 2026
FIRST ON FOX: A top senator involved in slashing red tape will tout a plan requiring line-item proof of every federal tax dollar from entities that receive federal funding.
Sen. Joni Ernst said her move would guard against rampant fraud such as the slew of allegedly fake Minneapolis daycares, adding the measure could have helped prevent wasted taxpayer funds.
Ernst’s bill coincides with the White House announcing a state-federal anti-fraud task force led by Vice President JD Vance, which White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News is a "whole of government effort to fight fraud at the state and federal level" and fulfills another campaign promise.
CRUZ TARGETS MINNESOTA-STYLE FRAUD WITH BILL FORCING PROOF BEFORE FEDERAL CHILDCARE PAYOUTS
Quality Learning Center in Minnesota was identified at the center of an alleged childcare fraud scandal in the state. (Madelin Fuerste/Fox News)
The COST (Cost Openness and Spending Transparency) Act will ensure every government agency lists every project it uses taxpayer money for, as Ernst prepares to lead a Senate Small Business Committee hearing featuring watchdogs like White Coat Waste and Open The Books.
"As I always say, if you can’t find waste in Washington, there can only be one reason - you didn’t look," Ernst told Fox News Digital.
"But after years of fighting to hold Washington accountable, I’ve also learned that you can’t stop what you can’t see. That’s why this Sunshine Week, I’m leading the COST ACT to post the price on every single project the American public is footing the bill for," she said.
FEDERAL FRAUD FACES SENATE SHOWDOWN AS THUNE TAPS ERNST TO LEAD REFORMS AFTER MINNESOTA SCANDAL
Under the COST Act, allegedly fraudulent businesses like Minneapolis daycares would be required to list all of their federal funding.
Such transparency would have exposed Minnesota fraudsters earlier, helping authorities catch scofflaws and alleged tax-dollar thieves.
The COST Act’s official purpose is "to put a public price tag on all projects supported with taxpayer dollars," according to a copy obtained by Fox News Digital.
Any agency, individual or entity — including those within state and local governments and federal research grant recipients — must clearly report through a press release or other approved documentation any program or project carried out using federal funds, whether fully or in part.
The recipient of taxpayer funds must report the percentage of total costs covered by federal funds, the dollar amount, and the portion financed privately.
Read the bill below. App users: Click here
It then instructs the Office of Management and Budget — currently led by Director Russell Vought — to review a random sample of such recipients to enforce compliance and publicly report its findings.
A source familiar with the legislation added that the work of citizen journalists in Minneapolis who helped expose the "Quality Learning Center" and other allegedly fraudulent daycares and medical services companies inspired a new requirement to give civilians an outlet for their concerns.
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Vought’s office would have one year to set up such a mechanism for anonymous reports of noncompliance, according to the bill.
"Calling taxpayers’ attention to how and where their hard-earned money is being spent exposes fraudulent spending, like what we saw at the Quality ‘Learing’ Center in Minnesota, so it can no longer fester in the shadows," Ernst said on that account.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/senate-doge-leader-moves-force-receipt-every-tax-dollar-after-minnesota-fraud-scandal