Ernst: Senate Committee Lears about Fraud from Nick Shirley

WASHINGTON – Today during a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing, U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) highlighted independent journalist Nick Shirley's investigation that exposed how Minnesota's notorious Quality Learing Center received $10 million tax dollars to provide child care despite having no children in attendance. Ernst also blasted the failed leadership of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and California Governor Gavin Newsom for allowing fraud to flourish in their states, underscoring that the federal government loses up to $521 billion in fraud every year. Watch Ernst’s questioning here . Background: After an estimated $9 billion or more was exposed in Minnesota fraud, Ernst worked to put safeguards in place to stop scams early and claw back any money ripped off from taxpayers with her Putting an N to Learing about Fraud Act that would tie funding to actual attendance, requiring reimbursement after services are provided, mandating long-term recordkeeping, and allowing audits by federal authorities. Ernst kept up the drum beat and gave her January 2026 Squeal Award to Minnesota Governor Walz , calling out swindlers in Minnesota and everywhere that in the era of DOGE, crime no longer pays. In February, Ernst challenged Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison to explain how fraud was allowed to flourish and go unpunished in his state, calling him out for funds being “funneled away into fraudulent schemes” and reminding him of his own false claim that his state had “done enough” while Minnesota’s fraud schemes had already wasted more than $9 billion in tax dollars. After Ernst revealed that the infamous Quality Learing Center in Minnesota and questionable personal care companies in Ohio received financial support from the Small Business Administration, she directed the SBA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) to investigate each for potential fraud and to recover every cent that may have been stolen. ###