FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
HERMANTOWN, MN – Northland voters deserve to know the truth about dark money PAC attack ads airing across the region. In a recent fact-check, Heartland Signal found that the group’s advertising misrepresents Senator Hauschild’s record fighting fraud, relying on procedural motions and omitting votes on significant fraud prevention legislation.
According to Heartland Signal, the ads attack Hauschild over procedural votes while leaving out that Hauschild championed and voted in favor of Senate File 856 to establish a new statewide Office of Inspector General. In fact, the bill Hauschild passed included the very fraud accountability language highlighted in the misleading smear ad.
Heartland Signal’s report details the real story: the fraud-fighting measures that Republicans are running on now were authored and advanced by DFL lawmakers.
“Dark money corporate PACs are running ads saying Republicans are the ones fighting fraud, but look at the legislation they’re talking about,” said Hauschild. “The Office of Inspector General, the Medical Assistance Protection Act to add prosecutors and strengthen penalties for Medicaid fraud, investments in modernizing county technology to catch fraud and streamline county services, and our landmark human services program integrity reform package were all authored by DFL legislators. If Republicans want to talk about stopping fraud, they should be honest about who is actually writing the laws they are celebrating.”
The attack ad is funded by Advance Minnesota, which has received $1.1 million from GOPAC, a D.C.-based corporate PAC whose top contributors are Big Pharma and Big Tobacco, with PhRMA industry interest groups donating $3.2 million, and RAI Services Company (formerly R.J. Reynolds tobacco) donating $2.9 million.
“I’m not surprised that Big Pharma would prefer legislators in office who aren’t willing to stand up to them,” Hauschild said. “I’m proud of my record of fighting for Minnesotans against rising prescription drug prices. From the Prescription Drug Affordability Board to fighting for prescription drug discount protections that force Big Pharma to follow the law, I’ll keep fighting for patients and access to health care in the Northland.
“The people of my district can see the record for themselves,” said Hauschild. “They see who led on these bills, who voted for them, and who is now trying to rewrite history in an ad. I’ll keep focusing on delivering solutions, protecting taxpayer dollars, stopping fraud, and making sure northern Minnesota gets a fair deal.”
The legislative record on fraud-fighting bills passed this year shows the true authorship of those packages, which was entirely DFL-led:
SF 856 and SF3447 – Office of Inspector General, Sen. Heather Gustafson, DFL
SF 4612 – Medical Assistance Protection Act, Sen. Ann Johnson Stewart, DFL
SF 4612 and SF334 County IT Modernization, Sen. Melissa H. Wiklund, DFL
SF4476– Program Integrity, Sen. John Hoffman, DFL
Senator Hauschild is calling on local media to set the record straight about these dark money ads and ensure Northland voters know the full picture on how anti-fraud legislation moved through the legislature.
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