Klobuchar lays out anti-fraud plan, other priorities if elected governor
Democratic U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar laid out her priorities for the first time since announcing her candidacy for Minnesota governor Sunday.
Her announcement followed incumbent DFL Gov. Tim Walz's abrupt exit from the race at the start of the year, amid scrutiny over fraud in taxpayer-funded programs.
On Sunday, the long-time senator detailed her goals to combat fraud by strengthening criminal penalties, blocking payments to anyone convicted of fraud and auditing government agencies.
"You are right to be angry about the fraud," Klobuchar said. "It is unacceptable and it must end."
Klobuchar said the audit would start "on day one" and that she would work with the legislative auditor.
The Minnesota Legislature is currently considering multiple anti-fraud bills, several with bipartisan support. That includes an Office of the Inspector General, a new independent watchdog agency to crack down on fraud in social services programs, and a bill that would make it easier to withhold payments to providers facing fraud claims.
Several Republican challengers are in the race for their party's nomination. The top contenders from the GOP's February caucus include Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth, businessman Kendall Qualls and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell.
Lindell spoke with WCCO over the phone and criticized Klobuchar, saying she should have spoken up about the fraud while in the Senate. Demuth called Klobuchar's campaign a "Walz third term."
"Plain and simple: four terms of Democrat control of the executive branch have doubled our state budget, raised taxes by billions and enabled a culture of fraud that has stolen billions more," Demuth said in a statement.
When asked if her priorities are an extension of Walz' agenda, Klobuchar said she would approach some issues differently and pointed to her experience as a prosecutor.
"If I was there and had access to the information, I would have looked at, where are the programs where we are starting to see ballooning budgets, which is something that should be done all the time," Klobuchar said. "When can we do these surprise audits and check on things immediately? Those are changes I would make."
The senator was flanked by former U.S. Attorney Andy Luger, who charged dozens of people in the Feeding Our Future pandemic fraud scheme. Luger expressed his support for Klobuchar and emphasized the ways she helped his office.
Klobuchar also discussed proposals to modernize outdated tech, streamline the permitting process for builders and negotiate lower drug prices.
