“I was born and raised in Mississippi, and this particular kind of fraud was just a particularly egregious failure to use money to serve what the TANF Act calls “needy families,” which we have an excess of in Mississippi and we have great, great needs.” , he said. “I found it particularly offensive that they so unceremoniously spent so many millions of dollars meant to eliminate poverty in this state and instead spend it on each other and on celebrities and corporations and their favorite institutions.”
Mississippi politics has for years been dominated by Republicans who tend to be skeptical about the efficacy of the federal welfare system. Their concern about the potential misuse of federal funds by poor people led to the adoption of strict safeguards to prevent fraud, and the state was particularly careful about which poor people could receive aid: An article by ThinkProgress, a progressive news site, found that in 2016 .only 167 of the 11,700 Mississippi families who applied for TANF payments were approved.
Critics say the abuse that occurred in Mississippi should have been foreseen when the old welfare system, which gave cash benefits to poor families, was replaced in 1996 by a system of block grants given to states, giving them many more freedom of action to spend the money.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has been looking into the scandal for more than two years, according to Logan Reeves, a spokesman for the state auditor’s office. This month, Congressman Benny Thompson, Democrat of Mississippi, asked Attorney General Merrick Garland to focus on Mr. Favre and Mr. Bryant, writing that the latter “has clearly taken actions that ensure that Mississippi’s poorest citizens will be deprived of social benefits intended to benefit their households.”
“The people of Mississippi deserve answers,” Mr. Thompson wrote.
Mr. Bryant did not immediately respond to a message on Saturday, but in a statement earlier this month prompted by Mr. Thompson’s letter, a representative for Mr. Bryant said he denied wrongdoing. “These allegations against Governor Bryant are false,” the statement said. “Each claim against these individuals was discovered and prosecuted as a result of an investigation that Governor Bryant requested from the state auditor.”
In April, Mississippi Today reported that $1.7 million in welfare money went to a pharmaceutical company in which Mr. Favre had invested, and that Mr. Bryant, who knew public funds were going to the company , has agreed to do an inventory of the company just after leaving office. (After all, the news service reported, Mr. Bryant took no stock.)
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