Taxpayers deserve confidence that their money is being spent wisely

When concerns arise, those in charge have a responsibility to investigate claims of waste, fraud, and abuse — fully and without delay.

This is Rep. Paul Flynn of Albion with the Weekly Republican Address

Recent federal findings of fraud in Medicaid, SNAP, and other welfare programs raise serious questions about how taxpayer funds are being distributed in Maine.

Sadly, these findings reinforce what House Republicans have warned about for years: we need a non-biased, independent review of how your money is being managed.

House Republicans — and our colleagues in the Senate — will continue to push for transparency and accountability. Because it is your money. It comes from your hard work. It does not come from some magic “free money” tree.

We have repeatedly requested information from the administration and asked that it be made public. Most of those requests have been ignored.

However, enough information has leaked out to raise troubling questions, including:

• EBT payments sent to deceased individuals
• Housing resources diverted to non-citizens while homeless Mainers wait
• Non-citizens registering and voting
• Individuals without legal status involved in crimes and car accidents
• Bundles of blank ballots discovered in an Amazon package
• An unexplained spike in deaths of children in state custody

And just last spring, Democratic State Auditor Matt Dunlap released a report that found:

• Lack of internal controls exposing $2.1 billion in FY2024 contract spending to fraud, waste, and abuse
• A 100% failure rate for agencies following their own procurement rules
• Sole-source contracts without justification
• Contracts signed after work already began
• Procurements with no cost analysis
• Agencies splitting contracts to avoid competitive bidding requirements
• Failure to conduct vendor performance reviews

The Mills administration and majority Democrats in the Legislature have resisted calls to investigate the deficiencies identified by their own State Auditor.

Unfortunately, too many in Augusta seem to believe the public wants them to reflexively say “no” to any request from Republican legislators — or even from federal agencies — regardless of whether rejecting those requests harms the very people who rely on federal programs.

Just last fall, Maine’s partisan Attorney General instructed state agencies not to respond to inquiries from the U.S. Department of Justice.

This kind of polarization does nothing to help Maine people.

Mainers are tired of the political games. They want their government to do its job. They want assurance that tax dollars are solving problems — not creating new ones.

The Mills administration and legislative Democrats should cooperate with federal officials to ensure laws are being followed, waste is eliminated, and benefits reach the people these programs were designed to help.

Anything less shows disregard for how other people’s money is spent — or worse, suggests an effort to cover up fraud, waste, and abuse.

This has been Rep. Paul Flynn with the Weekly Republican Address.

Thank you for listening — and thank you for helping us change Maine for the better.

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And God bless you all.

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Representative Paul Flynn of Albion is serving his first term as the Representative for District 63. Paul is a Selectman for the Town of Albion and serves as the Pastor of the Freedom Congregational Church. He is a Real Estate Agent, entrepreneur, and the President of Freedom Coin Company, operating as a small business owner. Paul also operated the Freedom General Store for 15 years under his entrepreneurial, self-employed status. From the fall of 2010 to 2017, Paul worked as a Manager at Ironwood, a residential treatment center for teenagers in Morrill. While managing the day-to-day functions of the facility and overseeing Direct Care staff, he supported a program licensed by Maine DHHS and DOE for 45 residents aged 13–18, offering both residential and educational services. Paul holds B.S. and Associate’s Degrees from St. Joseph’s College. He was honored with the Sisters of Mercy Award, given to the graduating senior who best exemplified living the Gospel of Jesus every day. Paul is a member of the Freedom Community Historical Society, where he is the past Treasurer, and has previously served on the boards of the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine (1987–1988), Big Brothers Big Sisters, Lakewood Manor Nursing Home, Winslow Place, and the St. John’s Church Finance Commission in Winslow. He worked for the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine from July 1983 to January 1985. Paul has coached in Fairfield PAL and at Lawrence Junior High and High School. Paul is married to Kate, and together they have three children and eight grandchildren. In his spare time, he enjoys hunting, fishing, and metal detecting.