WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Michael Baumgartner has called for a review of federally funded programs in Washington state to ensure robust integrity controls are in place. In a letter addressed to Secretaries Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. of Health and Human Services and Brooke L. Rollins of Agriculture, Baumgartner emphasized the importance of validating key controls for state-administered benefit programs.
Baumgartner’s request aims to safeguard against vulnerabilities similar to those found in Minnesota’s administration of USDA-administered child nutrition programs and Medicaid-funded services. He highlighted issues such as low barriers to entry for providers, limited documentation requirements and rapid spending growth as potential risk factors.
Baumgartner asked the Departments to review whether Washington state programs exhibit similar vulnerabilities and to provide either validation of controls or identify gaps and corrective actions.
He requested a written response or staff-level briefing within 30 days. Baumgartner emphasized the need to protect taxpayer dollars and ensure preventive integrity controls are in place for federal-state program delivery models.
