Vice President J.D. Vance said the Trump administration is intensifying its efforts to combat government fraud, arguing that taxpayer dollars have too often been diverted away from their intended purposes and into the hands of bad actors.

Speaking about the administration’s anti-fraud initiative, Vance said the federal government has long struggled with fraud and abuse, a problem he believes has been enabled by elected officials and government leaders.

“Your government, your leadership, and too many, your congressmen have allowed the government to rip you off and give your money to fraudsters,” Vance said.

Vance, who leads the administration’s fraud task force, said identifying fraud is not difficult, though eliminating it remains a major challenge.

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“Just yesterday, we announced something. You know, I'm the leader of the fraud task force, and I.. and people ask me, is it hard to find fraud, and I'll tell them it's not hard to find fraud in the US federal government. Unfortunately, it's hard to root it out, it's hard to fight against it, but it is not hard to find fraud,” Vance said.

As an example, Vance pointed to a recently announced Department of Justice lawsuit involving New York’s Medicaid program.

“Just yesterday we announced a Department of Justice lawsuit against the state Medicaid director of this state?” Vance said.

According to Vance, the lawsuit alleges that a bidding process was manipulated in a way that allowed fraudulent actors to access taxpayer funds.

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“So, here's what the state Medicaid director in New York would do: facilitated fraud by using a sham bidding process. This person was actually inviting fraudulent bidders to come in and take advantage of your tax dollars, so that we could send it to fraudsters instead of you, and that's disgraceful,” Vance said.

Vance argued that government officials should focus on preventing fraud rather than enabling it.

“You do not want your government facilitating fraud, you want your government fighting against fraud,” Vance said.

Vance also praised Michael Petrie, saying the two share a commitment to protecting taxpayer dollars and improving government accountability.

“And one of the things, and one of the things that I love about Michael Petrie is that he cares about this fraud issue just as much as I do,” Vance said.

Vance described that approach as rooted in a traditional view of government responsibility.

“He happens to believe in an old-fashioned good government concept that when you pay your taxes, it ought to go to the services and the national security needs that it's meant to go towards,” Vance said.

Vance repeatedly stressed that public funds should serve citizens in need rather than enrich individuals who exploit government programs.

“It shouldn't go to fraudsters. It shouldn't go to fraudsters who take advantage of your tax dollars. It shouldn't go to fraudsters who will literally steal money out of the Medicaid fund in order to enrich themselves. It shouldn't go to people who would steal food out of the mouths of poor children. It should go to the people who need it,” Vance said.

The vice president also emphasized what he described as the generosity of the American people and their willingness to support those facing hardship.

“One of the things I love about our country, ladies and gentlemen, is that we are generous people,” Vance said.

“When we see a kid who can't afford food, sometimes my family growing up would benefit from these programs. When we see a kid who can't afford food, we say, you know what, we're going to help you. When we see a person who has a treatable illness but can't afford medical care, you say, you wouldn't. You know what, we're going to help you,” Vance said.

Vance argued that fraudsters abuse that generosity by diverting resources intended for vulnerable Americans.

“Whether it's the Medicaid program or a local charity, you know what these fraudsters are doing. They are taking advantage of American generosity to enrich themselves,” Vance said.

He concluded by saying the administration intends to continue prosecuting those involved in fraud and protecting taxpayer funds.

“And we need somebody who's going to put them in jail and protect your money, and that's exactly what we're doing under the administration,” Vance said.

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