St. Joe-Benton Harbor News

Michigan Senate Republican Leader Aric Nesbitt has called for urgent reform of the state's Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) following the release of a new audit report. The report, conducted by Michigan's nonpartisan Office of the Auditor General, revealed that the UIA made approximately $245.1 million in improper payments between January 2020 and October 2022. These payments were made to deceased individuals, incarcerated inmates, individuals who were too young or too old to receive unemployment benefits, and even to the department's own employees.

Expressing his concern, Nesbitt stated, "This is another alarming report of gross mismanagement of taxpayer dollars by the Whitmer administration." He criticized Governor Gretchen Whitmer and her appointed officials for downplaying the seriousness of the findings and claimed that the problems persisted even beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. Nesbitt further highlighted the fact that the Whitmer administration is pushing for increased payroll taxes to fund additional unemployment benefits, despite the mismanagement by the UIA.

Nesbitt emphasized that the top bipartisan priorities of the Legislature when it reconvenes in 2024 should be to fix the broken unemployment agency and ensure appropriate management of tax dollars. He also called for the reduction, rather than the increase, of tax burdens on Michigan workers and small businesses.

The audit report found that the UIA failed to identify a significant number of imposter claims and did not take steps to recover many improper payments and penalties. Payments were issued by the agency even after it was discovered that the recipients were deceased or incarcerated. The UIA did not evaluate whether these payments were appropriate or take any action to rectify the situation.

This latest audit report is the fifth and final one conducted by the Office of the Auditor General following a request made by Nesbitt and other legislative leaders in 2020. Nesbitt had introduced Senate Concurrent Resolution 29, which called for a financial and performance audit of the UIA. The resolution was unanimously approved by the Senate.

It is clear that urgent action is needed to address the mismanagement and improper payments made by the UIA. As the Legislature reconvenes in 2024, the focus should be on implementing reforms that will ensure the appropriate use of taxpayer dollars and help people get back to work.

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Click this link to access more information: https://www.senatoraricnesbitt.com/nesbitt-calls-for-reform-of-uia-following-latest-audit-report-showing-millions-paid-to-dead-incarcerated-people/