Daycare fraud concerns should be a priority
Dear Friends and Neighbors,
Since news came to light months ago about the rampant daycare fraud in Minnesota, I have been concerned about the possibility of similar fraud here in Washington.
As the legislative session got underway, I shared these concerns publicly. Democrat leaders in Olympia dismissed them as unfounded; the Speaker of the House went so far as to say such concerns were an insult to legitimate daycare owners in Washington. I said that anyone operating legitimately should want fraud to be uncovered and addressed so their own businesses don’t suffer guilt by association. Moreover, any money we lose because of fraud means fewer dollars for people who need those services.
I was right to be concerned.
A recent audit uncovered $37 million in questionable payments from federal tax dollars to daycare providers in Washington.
An article in the Washington State Standard reported, “The $37 million the audit identified is made up of $27.2 million in federal Child Care and Development Fund grants and $9.9 million from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF, program.”
This means that $1 of every $5 (or 20% of the total amount) DCYF paid out was an overpayment.
LISTEN TO MY PODCAST ABOUT FRAUD AT DCYF
While some were overpaid, others overbilled the state. While this doesn’t necessarily prove fraud in the system, it does prove that the DCYF lacks proper documentation to back up its spending and/or isn’t complying with federal requirements.
DCYF has not referred the audit findings to the Office of Fraud and Accountability for review. According to the Washington State Standard, DCYF says the cases of questionable payments did not “rise to the level of suspected fraud or intentional deception.”
I disagree.
If the fault for overpayments lies with DCYF, that indicates gross incompetence and mismanagement. DCYF claims they don’t have enough staff to adequately review hundreds of thousands of payments. That should be remedied.
But, if some daycare providers are overbilling the state and can’t provide documentation to justify their numbers, that indicates fraud and should be further investigated for “intentional deception.”
Every dollar the state spends comes from hardworking taxpayers, and while agencies such as DCYF waste 20% of their payouts on overpayments, the Democrat majority continues to raise taxes and claim that they need more and more revenue.
Republicans often say that Washington doesn’t have a revenue problem — it has a spending problem. If Democrats took audit findings such as these more seriously, there would be room in existing revenue to fund the state’s priorities without demanding another dime from you.
I’ll continue to follow this situation closely and work toward greater accountability at DCYF and in other state agencies.
READ MY RECENT COLUMN ON THE DCYF AUDIT
If you have any questions or comments, email me or call my office at (360) 786-7638.
Sincerely,
John Braun
Emails show true motive for the income tax
For years, Republicans have asserted that Democrats would eventually pass a state income tax, knowing it is unconstitutional, with the intention of triggering legal challenges that would eventually force the Washington State Supreme Court to reconsider its 1933 decision that determined income is property.
We knew their hope was that the increasingly liberal Court would overturn more than 90 years of legal precedent and rule that income is not property, which would make a graduated income tax – like the one Democrats passed this past legislative session — legal in Washington.
This was recently confirmed in an article appearing in the Center Square, which quotes reports emails between the Senate majority leader and the Attorney General’s office, which were found through a public records request.
As you recall, Democrats passed that income tax after branding it a “Millionaires’ Tax” and claiming it only affects people who make more than $1 million a year. Democrats actually voted two years ago to ban an income tax at both the state and local level. When confronted with this, the Senate majority leader called the vote a “pie crust promise,” which he said was easily made and easily broken.
During the legislative session, Republicans worked hard to shine a spotlight on the details of that income tax proposal. These include:
- Hurts small businesses
- Contains a marriage penalty
- Can be expanded easily – both in rate and in who it applies to
- Will cause job providers and others to move out of state
It also contains a clause that prevents the public from overturning the tax through referendum. The Center Square article reveals that the initial draft of the bill did not include this clause — it was added at the suggestion of Solicitor General Noah Purcell.
Democrats held hearings on the income tax in both the House and Senate. Senate Republicans lead a grassroots effort calling on people to sign in to oppose the bill. More than 118,000 people signed in against it. The actual testimony heard in committee was 2 to 1 opposed.
After the hearings, when asked about the groundswell of opposition to the bill, Democrat leadership said, “We don’t pay attention to people who sign in, but not to testify” and “They’re not helping us make decisions.”
Republicans, however, fought hard to educate the public about the bill – to see the big picture about how the tax will affect Washington’s economy. We are already seeing companies such as Starbucks and wealthy individuals leaving Washington – taking with them jobs and the revenue source the tax depends on.
We will continue to fight against a state income tax next year, as we expect Democrats to attempt to broaden it.
“An income tax on anyone in Washington will become an income tax on everyone in Washington.”
– Rep. Drew Stokesbary
31st District
Survey says affordability is
still the top concern
The results are in for the short online survey I included in a previous e-newsletter and a recent mailer sent out to my constituents.
The biggest takeaway is that 88% of those who responded do NOT support a state income tax if it applies to them.
In fact, more than 90% think the Legislature should send major tax proposals, such as the new state income tax, to voters for approval. Less than 7% disagreed.
Approximately 92% of people in our district think state government should live within existing revenue and stop raising taxes for new programs.
Also, affordability is still the biggest challenge facing communities and families. Of those surveyed, less than 2% are not concerned about the rising cost of living in Washington. In contrast, 80% are “very concerned” or “extremely concerned.”
Other highlights:
- 40% think preventing new taxes and tax increases should be the Legislature’s top priority in 2027
- 22% think the top priority should be reducing government spending
- More than 75% think Washington is currently headed in the right direction
- 74.19% believe the Legislature should prioritize stronger laws to support law enforcement and reduce crime
When asked what they believe is the biggest factor driving up the cost of housing in Washington, answers showed:
- Government regulation (34.43%)
- Taxes and fees (22.95%)
- Population growth (21.31%)
- High interest rates (8.2%)
- Other (13.11%)
When asked what the biggest challenge our communities face right now, the most frequent responses said the high cost of living, taxes, decaying infrastructure and increasing the number of police officers while also prosecuting more criminals.
When asked what the biggest challenge their families are facing, the most common answers were affordability (especially rent, energy, healthcare and childcare), property taxes, government overregulation, and the quality of education their children are getting.
Thank you for a successful town hall
Thank you to everyone who participated in the 20th Legislative District virtual town hall hosted online by Rep. Peter Abbarno, Rep. Ed Orcutt and me on April 13.
People asked many great questions. Not surprisingly, the new income tax and the cost of living in Washington were top concerns.