‘The American Nightmare’: California Congressmen Expose Democrats’ Record of Waste and Fraud

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a brand-new episode of the Republican Study Committee’s (RSC) Right to the Point podcast, Rep. Vince Fong (CA-20), sits down with RSC’s newest Member, Rep. James Gallagher (CA-01), to expose California Democrat leaders’ record of wasteful spending, failed policies, and misguided priorities. What’s happening in California offers a preview of what life could look like under Democrat leadership across America.

The Congressmen unpack their firsthand experience with California Democrats’ gross mismanagement of federal resources and misaligned priorities, having worked together in the California State Assembly before coming to Congress. They blast California’s handling of billions of dollars in COVID-era unemployment benefits, much of which was lost to fraud, as well as the state’s failure to pay back the billions of dollars it borrowed to pay for the benefits in the first place. The California Members also slammed the wasted taxpayer dollars on the California High-Speed Rail project, which does not have a single train operating.

The same disconnect between spending and results can be seen in California’s response to the devastating wildfires last year. Reps. Fong and Gallagher criticize the state’s failure to adequately prepare for disasters and coordinate relief efforts. Republicans provided tax relief to wildfire victims to help them during their recovery journey. House Republicans also passed the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) to improve access to clean drinking water, support farmers, and help communities and first responders prepare for and fight wildfires. 

The impacts of California policies extend well beyond the state’s borders. 40 percent of America’s imports come through California’s ports. The state has been forcing America’s maritime industry to comply with its radical environmental agenda, costing American businesses and consumers across the country over $2 billion, according to California’s own regulatory assessment. Other California climate mandates have made it harder for the state to produce more affordable energy, making California and the nation more reliant on gas coming via ship. The House of Representatives recently passed Rep. Fong’s H.J. Res. 210 and Rep. Gallagher’s H.J. Res. 213 to end two of California’s climate taxes. Rolling back these mandates will help lower energy and gas prices for Californians and Americans alike.

You can listen to the full episode on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Read highlights from the conversation below:

Rep. Vince Fong (CA-20): “We worked together in the California State Assembly, so we’re no stranger to Democrats mismanaging our resources…All the waste, fraud and abuse that exists, not only in the state budget but what they’ve allowed to happen in our state…I mean, these numbers are staggering. The White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud helped uncover over $245 billion of fraud. That’s $63 billion worth of fraud stopped each year…And about $59 billion has been successfully recovered through indictments.”

Rep. James Gallagher (CA-01): “One of the first eye opening issues was when we saw the unemployment insurance in California, which was run by the EDD…Reached over $30 billion of fraud during COVID… It was amazing to watch these bureaucrats say, ‘Oh, well, you know, there’s really nothing we can do.’...This should not happen. People on death row, people in prison getting these payments. That was maybe the first one where we really honed in on the fraud in California. But here more recently, Nick Shirley visited our state. He uncovered the fraud of the hospice program. One doctor billed Medi-Cal over $254 million fraudulently…[Republicans] finally starting to get results on this. We’re passing good measures that are going to stop this fraud and get this money back to our constituents where it belongs.”

Rep. Vince Fong (CA-20): “Every dollar that goes to a fraudster is one dollar taken away from a vulnerable family in either your district or my district. When we talk about the unemployment fraud that existed, I mean, this is just crazy for everyone that is listening. I mean, California spent or sent $1 billion in unemployment benefits to those in prison. You indicated, James, $32 billion in fraudulent EDD payments. What’s crazy, if you could even say it’s crazier to think about, is that California borrowed over $20 billion from the federal government to provide, you know, actual unemployment to those that needed it during the pandemic. California is the only state right now in the union that has not paid back its unemployment debt.”

Rep. James Gallagher (CA-01): “These hardworking folks who are just trying to make a living, this is the kind of stuff that happens in California. And then you go to high speed rail, this boondoggle train. They haven’t laid a single mile of track and they spent over $15 billion, you know, on this. And here last week we found out $600,000 going to consultants for luxury items and for luxury visits and for memberships. You can’t make this stuff up…They continue to prioritize this high speed boondoggle train to $1 billion a year.” 

Rep. Vince Fong (CA-20): “$1 billion…[They should] invest it in wildfire prevention or water storage…The crazy thing about the high speed rail nightmare that, I mean, that goes through my district, this whole thing was supposed to be done by 2020. We’re in 2026. It was supposed to cost $33 billion. It’s now ballooned to over $230 billion with no end in sight. You know there’s no train, there’s no track.”

Rep. James Gallagher (CA-01): “We're finally going to make some progress on this…With some of the measures we were able to pass, you know, with this House majority, we’re cracking down on fraud. There’s going to be greater oversight, greater controls. We’re going to stop this mismanagement…But, you know, California continues to be exhibit A of, you know, rampant fraud, mismanagement of your public dollars. I didn’t even mention the over $1 billion politicians palace that they’re building…They got money for that, but [no] money for wildfire prevention and for water storage and all the things that we know should be priorities.”

Rep. James Gallagher (CA-01): “First, we’ve certainly made a lot of progress in helping people recover. You know, that has been something that you and I have worked together on that we had great leadership. And Doug [LaMalfa] in Washington, D.C. and others, you know, to help these communities recover after devastating wildfires. But what we want to do is prevent these things from happening again. The biggest cause of these fires is the tremendous amount of fuel that’s been allowed to grow into tinder boxes on our public lands. We need to get back into our forests. We need to get back on our public lands, manage them better, remove dead and dying trees and underbrush.”

Rep. Vince Fong (CA-20): “[WRDA] investments build upon the billion dollars we got for Western water infrastructure in the [Working Families Tax Cuts Act], $540 million for California water. I mean, this is probably the biggest investment in California water infrastructure in the last 50 years. And so we’re going to do some groundbreaking, I think, next month. More pumping stations, more conveyance facilities…Water is life for our communities because we’re so agriculture rich…We grow the food that everyone enjoys, not only in California but across the country…California is the number one ag producing state in the country…If you really account for everything, the dairy, you know, one out of every four items on your plate for dinner either comes from your district or my district.”