The Tiffany Telegram: June 5, 2026
Dear Friend,
Telegram readers are by now well aware of the rampant waste, fraud, and abuse throughout our federal aid programs.
In Minnesota, state officials ignored — and in some cases were even complicit in — handing out federal dollars to fraudulent childcare, food stamp, and healthcare schemes.
But they are not the only ones.
A recent audit has shown that the U.S. government loses roughly $600 million annually from improper childcare payments alone. Not only do these fraudsters steal American tax dollars, they also siphon money away from legitimate businesses.
Jennifer Larson, the CEO of a Minnesota-based Autism Center, came before Congress to testify about how fraud and abuse of federal aid are hurting those truly in need. During a hearing, Mrs. Larson shared that while fake “businesses” such as the “Quality Learing Center” in Minnesota cashed out big, legitimate providers have been forced to scale back services.
To help prevent this kind of grift, I voted for the Stop Child Care Scams Act by Representative Mary Miller (IL-15) this week. This will withhold federal funds from states that have repeatedly failed to address fraud, abuse, and misuse of aid for childcare services.
Additionally, I cosponsored the No Welfare for the Wealthy Act, which establishes clear asset and income thresholds for eligibility in programs such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and food stamps.
Currently, 41 states and the District of Columbia exploit a loophole known as Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility (BBCE), allowing applicants to bypass federal asset limits when receiving food stamp benefits. In many cases, assets like cash savings, boats, and RVs are ignored entirely when determining eligibility.
As a result, at least five million food stamp recipients nationwide do not meet federal income and/or asset requirements – yet still cash in on nearly $7 billion in benefits, courtesy of taxpayers, every year. You can read more about that here.
I will continue fighting to protect taxpayer dollars, restore accountability to our federal aid programs, and ensure assistance goes to the Americans who really need it.
Thanks again for starting off your weekend with us! We hope you enjoy this week’s edition of the Tiffany Telegram.
Sincerely,
Tom Tiffany
Member of Congress
Wisconsin’s Free Fishing Weekend is here, meaning you can fish without a license, trout stamp, or salmon stamp.Learn more here.
Less waiting, more service
This week, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced a significant reduction in prosthetic limb delivery times by streamlining its purchasing process for the thousands of veterans who receive prosthetics through the VA each year. The VA says these changes have already cut wait times by about 10 days, and the department expects average delivery times to drop more than 40 percent overall, from 94 days to 54 days. This builds on the important work that the Trump Administration and VA have been doing. For example, the VA said more than 100,000 new Veterans have enrolled in VA health care in 2026, and 36 new VA health care facilities have opened since January 20, 2025. They also report the benefits backlog is down 72% since that date after rising 24% under the Biden administration. On the care side, VA completed 82,083,918 direct care appointments in 2025, offered more than 2.8 million appointments outside normal hours, and permanently housed 51,936 homeless Veterans, the highest total in seven years. For more information and resources on major limb loss care, you can visit VA Amputation Care Services and VA Orthotic, Prosthetic & Pedorthic Clinical Services.
Remembering Communist China’s victims
This week on Capitol Hill, lawmakers gathered with some of the former leaders of Chinese pro-democracy protests to commemorate the anniversary of the infamous 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre of peaceful demonstrators by Communist Chinese security forces. One of those student leaders was Arthur Liu, the father of America’s own Olympic figure skating gold medalist, Alysa Liu – both of whom have been targets of Chinese spying. Mr. Liu urged people “to remember the movement and not to forget those who are still in jail.” To help make sure that those who died are not forgotten, I joined Sen. Rick Scott (FL) and several House members in introducing the Tiananmen Square Memorial Act, which would rename the street directly in front of the Communist Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C. as “Tiananmen Square Memorial Boulevard,” and change the compound’s address to “1 Tiananmen Square Memorial Boulevard.” You can read more about our bill here.
Committee Update
Judiciary
Deporting the worst of the worst
During the four years of the Biden-Harris border crisis, Democrats intentionally allowed millions of illegal aliens to flood across our border, including tens of thousands of known cartel members. The results have been as predictable as they are tragic: Countless U.S. citizens brutally attacked and killed by foreign career criminals and gang members. In 2023, 20-year-old Kayla Hamilton was murdered by an illegal alien and verified MS-13 gang member from El Salvador who was allowed in by the Biden administration. There was also Laken Riley who was assaulted and murdered by an illegal Venezuelan migrant who was a member of the violent Tren de Aragua – once again, waved in under Biden. Members of these gangs have fanned out across the country, reaching at least 19 states including Wisconsin, putting communities across the country at risk. Thankfully, this week, the House Judiciary Committee passed a bill I cosponsored called the Deport Alien Gang Members Act authored by Rep. Tom McClintock (CA-05). This bill makes sure that any criminal alien gang member, or anyone who aided and abetted a gang member, is automatically inadmissible and deportable. You can read more about that here.
Natural Resources
Getting forest management back on track
Yesterday, we had Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz at the Federal Lands Subcommittee for an oversight hearing on the state of our nation’s federal forests and an outlook for the 2026 wildfire year. The results of his leadership are already speaking for themselves. Last year, despite the highest number of ignitions on National Forest System lands since 2016, the Forest Service’s aggressive fire suppression efforts kept the total number of acres burned to roughly half of the 10-year average. And the Forest Service has launched a strategy to increase timber harvests by 25 percent, a level not achieved since 1993. We know that healthy forests require active management, but for decades, timber harvests have fallen while catastrophic wildfires have risen. This is no coincidence, when we stop managing forests, nature eventually does it for us through insects, disease, or catastrophic fires. These conditions did not just appear overnight, and fixing our forests won’t happen overnight either. Congress still has work to do, as regulatory burdens continue to hamstring efforts to ramp up forest management. Nearly 2 billion board feet of timber are tied up by frivolous lawsuits, and these onerous hurdles add years of delays and drive-up costs for commonsense projects that need to get done to protect lives and stop homes from burning down. Through active forest management, strengthened wildfire response, regulatory reforms, increased timber production, and coordination with states and localities, we can begin to reverse the tide of our forest health and wildfire crisis. You can view my questioning of Chief Schultz, here.
District Update
Photo of the week
Hibernation is over, and the bears are out to play. Be sure to take the necessary precautions when recreating in areas with bears. Click here to learn more. If you have a photo of Wisconsin you. should like to share, please send it to comms.tiffany@gmail.com with your name and location. Your photo could be featured in next week’s Telegram!
“Surprise Visitor” — submitted by Gordon of East Farmington
Resources
Vacation is meant to be relaxing, so don’t let renewing or applying for your passport stress you out. The current processing time is 4 to 6 weeks, so we recommend getting this done as soon as possible. For more information, click here.
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As always, you are welcome to visit my website or to contact my offices in Washington, DC or Wisconsin, which remain open for service, if you have any questions or need assistance.
Good News from Wisconsin's 7th District and Congress
Prodigy National Cup
Medford Area Elementary School placed first in the Prodigy National Cup, a competition for the game-based math program Prodigy. Congratulations!
State Track and Field
Good luck to Lucy Braund of St. Croix Falls, who will be returning to the state track and field tournament for the 400 and 800-meter relays.
Giving Back
Two lifeguards from the Bloomer Area Aquatic & Recreation Center raised $1,300 in May for the American Cancer Society.
Historic Partnership
The United States and Japan announced a $1 billion partnership under President Trump’s Genesis Mission to accelerate scientific development.
Delivering for Americans
A new analysis this week shows that, thanks to the Working Families Tax Cuts, 97% of tax filers received a tax cut this past filing season.