MARC JACOBS
Hutch Post
In an interview this week, U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall connected the recent shooting of two West Virginia National Guard soldiers in Washington, D.C., to what he described as years of inadequate federal immigration enforcement, while also addressing school nutrition legislation, federal SNAP data disputes, and ongoing negotiations to reduce fraud in the Affordable Care Act.
Marshall said the nation is still “digging out” from immigration policies under the Biden administration, claiming millions of migrants entered the country without proper vetting.
“Over four years of Joe Biden, there’s probably been 10 million illegal aliens come into the country,” Marshall said. “Hundreds of thousands of violent illegal aliens were let in. It’s going to take 10 years to recover… 10 years to make the streets safe again.”
One National Guard member died and another remains hospitalized after the shooting. Marshall said the incident underscores the need for expanded removal operations and renewed screening of migrants from certain countries.
“We funded ICE and added billions to remove these violent illegal aliens,” he said. “They were never vetted properly. Now ICE is going back through about 300 known violent criminal illegal aliens and reviewing thousands more. It’s a cumbersome, long process.”
Push to Restore Whole Milk in Schools
Marshall also discussed his bipartisan bill to allow whole milk back in public school cafeterias, a product banned under Obama-era school nutrition rules.
Calling whole milk “the most nutritious drink known to humankind,” Marshall said restoring the option would benefit both students and dairy producers.
“This is near and dear to me. I grew up on a dairy,” he said. “Whole milk has 13 nutrients, high protein, and it decreases appetite later. We just want to bring that option back to schools.”
The Senate passed the bill, and Marshall said he hopes the U.S. House will advance it soon.
“If it gets to the floor, it will pass,” he said. “I bet there’ll be a little glass of milk on the president’s desk when he signs it.”
SNAP Data Dispute With States
Marshall also weighed in on a dispute between the U.S. Department of Agriculture and several Democratic governors who have refused to provide certain reporting data tied to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins has asked states to provide details to strengthen oversight of the $180 billion-a-year program.
“Most states comply,” Marshall said. “But when you’re spending $180 billion a year, there’s going to be fraud, waste, and abuse. Taxpayers deserve better oversight.”
He urged Gov. Laura Kelly and others not to withhold required information.
“She needs to comply with the rules, regardless of who the president is,” Marshall said. “Otherwise, Kansas kids are the ones who could be harmed.”
ACA Fraud Negotiations Continue
Marshall also said he is continuing negotiations to address what he estimated as $35 billion in annual fraud tied to the Affordable Care Act, including duplicate or fraudulent enrollments.
“One person’s Social Security number was being used 125 times,” Marshall said. “There are 58,000 dead people enrolled in Obamacare who the federal government is still sending payments for.”
He said he has presented a bill aimed at tightening verification systems but has yet to attract Democratic support.
“I cannot get one Democrat to sign onto it,” Marshall said. “But there are eight to ten Democratic senators who want to work with us. With technology, this should take days or weeks.”
Marshall said his long-term goal is to redirect a portion of federal premium subsidies into consumer-controlled health savings accounts, paired with mandatory price transparency from health-care providers.
“Americans are great shoppers,” he said. “If they can see price tags, economists think we could save a trillion dollars a year.”