FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—In a letter shared with The Daily Signal, Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., and Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, unveiled their plans to uncover fraud, waste, and abuse in federal education funding and the Biden-era student loan “bailout agenda.”
The senators’ announcement follows their appointment by Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, to lead the Education Fraud Task Force.
The task force was created to prevent instances of rampant federal fraud, as reported in Minnesota in December, Tuberville’s office confirmed with The Daily Signal.
In the letter, the senators vowed to “rectify the damage caused by the Biden Administration’s illegal student loan bailout agenda” and to establish “clarity, accountability and trust in federally funded education and childcare programs.”
The Biden administration’s student loan debt relief program reportedly cost taxpayers upward of $183 billion.
“Taxpayers demand that federal investments in our nation’s education are efficient, effective, and transparent. Education is key to opportunity, and our funding priorities should reflect this,” the letter states.
In their letter, the senators then asked Department of Education Secretary Linda McMahon to assist them in their efforts “uncovering fraud, waste, and abuse in federal education funding.“
“[The department] has tackled fraud head-on by prioritizing the identification and verification of every student who receives federal aid to ensure they are a real person, not a fraudulent entity,” the letter reads.
“The Education Fraud Taskforce asks for the Department of Education’s support to develop strong collaborative efforts and continue the good works of the department in uncovering, identifying, and preventing fraud,” the letter continues.
The Department of Education did not respond to The Daily Signal’s request for comment.