West Central PA News

Last week, a hearing was conducted by Rep. Brian Smith from Jefferson/Indiana, in collaboration with the House Republican Policy Committee, under the leadership of Chairman Josh Kail from Beaver/Washington. The session was the second in a series of discussions aimed at safeguarding social benefit programs in Pennsylvania from fraud and inefficiencies. The objective is to ensure that resources are efficiently distributed to those who need them most.

The hearing, titled “Excellence in Government: Preserving Benefit Integrity,” featured Sam Adolphsen and Roy Lenardson from the Foundation for Government Accountability. Their testimony shed light on cases of fraud in Pennsylvania’s Medicaid, SNAP, and unemployment insurance programs. Emphasis was placed on the importance of holding government accountable as a means to maintain program integrity.

At present, Pennsylvania faces a welfare issue, with 43% of Medicaid recipients being able-bodied adults, while 14,000 individuals who genuinely need assistance remain on the waiting list. Rep. Smith stated, “By hosting this hearing, I am committed to finding out how we as legislators can give a hand up, not a handout, and how we can reduce the waste in welfare.” He added his intent to share practical advice from the hearing to deter fraud, protect resources, and secure peace of mind for taxpayers.

Chairman Kail asserted, “We need to be smart with taxpayer dollars, ensuring those who need government benefits get them. For those who do not need to be receiving benefits, they have great, unrealized value. Let’s engage them and find out what we need to do to get them back to our workforce and contributing to our economy.”

Further hearings, including the next one scheduled for June 5 in Harrisburg, aim to continue these discussions. Full recordings of this and the previous hearings are available for public viewing.