{"id":5158,"date":"2021-01-27T11:00:21","date_gmt":"2021-01-27T18:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sandiegonewsdesk.com\/?p=5158"},"modified":"2021-01-27T15:07:26","modified_gmt":"2021-01-27T22:07:26","slug":"senate-republicans-lead-bipartisan-call-for-oversight-hearing-in-response-to-scathing-edd-audit-results","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sandiegonewsdesk.com\/?p=5158","title":{"rendered":"Senate Republicans Lead Bipartisan Call for Oversight Hearing in Response to Scathing EDD Audit Results"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
SACRAMENTO \u2013 Today, the non-partisan\u00a0State Auditor<\/a>\u00a0released the results of an audit about the Employment Development Department (EDD) originally called for by members of the\u00a0Senate Republican Caucus<\/a>\u00a0last summer.\u00a0The audit results come after news reports show an increase in the number of backlogged claims and that rampant fraudulent unemployment claims are now at a staggering $11 billion and could rise as high as $30 billion.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The audit found that \u201cthe economic downturn worsened EDD\u2019s already poor performance\u201d and that, even after adding numerous staff, EDD \u201conly marginally improved the percentage of answered calls.\u201d Last year, Senate Republicans asked for call center metrics to be included in the budget as a way to improve accountability, but the budget approved by the Governor and Democratic leadership did not include that proposal. The audit also found that, due to the inefficiencies and poor management at the EDD, some Californians will have to pay back benefits.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
In response to the audit,\u00a0Senate Republican Leader Shannon Grove<\/a>\u00a0(R-Bakersfield) and a bipartisan group of senators delivered a letter to the Chair of the Joint Legislative Audit Committee (JLAC) and the Chair of Senate Budget Subcommittee #5 requesting an immediate oversight hearing. The oversight hearing should focus on EDD implementing the Auditor\u2019s recommendations to address the backlog of claims and prevent future fraud. Media can download the bipartisan letter\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Below is the full letter:<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
January 26, 2021<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The Honorable Mar\u00eda Elena Durazo, Chair<\/div>\n
Senate Budget Subcommittee #5<\/div>\n
State Capitol, Room 2032<\/div>\n
Sacramento, CA 95814<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The Honorable Rudy Salas, Jr., Chair<\/div>\n
Joint Legislative Audit Committee<\/div>\n
1020 N Street, Room 107<\/div>\n
Sacramento, CA 95814<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Dear Senator Durazo and Assemblymember Salas,<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
We write today to call upon the Legislature to quickly hold hearings to address the continuing mismanagement of our state\u2019s Unemployment Insurance (UI) program by the Employment Development Department (EDD).\u00a0Since the pandemic began almost 11 months ago, we have heard horror stories from our constituents about unemployment claims being delayed, denied, or just lost in the bureaucracy. Adding insult to injury, newspapers have reported that fraudulent claims totaling potentially billions of dollars have been paid, even while legitimate claims languish. Unfortunately, we have also seen the Governor\u2019s past plans and initiatives fail to reform these problems, and the recently released Governor\u2019s budget offered no new proposals for strategic changes, systems investment, or management improvements.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The release today of the State Auditor\u2019s report on the EDD backlog confirms that it is past time for the Legislature to do what is needed to help resolve EDD\u2019s chronic issues. We also anticipate that an audit on EDD fraud, set to be released this Thursday, will highlight additional issues that should be addressed. To take that first step, we are specifically requesting that Senate Budget Subcommittee #5 and the Joint Legislative Audit Committee quickly hold a hearing on these audit results. The hearing should focus on how EDD is implementing the recommendations from the Auditor reports, along with resources and reforms that we can put in place to ensure the quick and orderly processing of legitimate claims along with effective anti-fraud measures.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
We cannot stress enough the importance that this oversight begin as soon as possible. While some in our state government may have lost focus on ensuring that Californians can obtain their unemployment benefits, we believe that real oversight needs to begin by the end of next week. Delaying committee hearings until the end of February or March would be a dereliction of our duty and would ultimately tell our constituents that we are content with the status quo.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
It is our hope that you will join us in committing to hold hearings by the end of next week to ensure that the Auditor\u2019s recommendations will be implemented and to ascertain what else needs to be done so that EDD pays honest claims quickly while preventing fraud.\u00a0Californians who are awaiting much-needed assistance deserve no less.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Sincerely,<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Brian Dahle<\/div>\n
1st Senate District<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Jim Nielsen<\/div>\n
4th Senate District<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Andreas Borgeas<\/div>\n
8th Senate District<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Anna Caballero<\/div>\n
12th Senate District<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Shannon Grove<\/div>\n
16th Senate District<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Scott Wilk<\/div>\n
21st Senate District<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh<\/div>\n
23rd Senate District<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Melissa Melendez<\/div>\n
28th Senate District<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Patricia Bates<\/div>\n
36th Senate District<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Brian Jones<\/div>\n
38th Senate District<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
cc: The Honorable Toni Atkins, President Pro Tempore<\/div>\n
The Honorable Anthony Rendon, Speaker<\/div>\n
The Honorable Nancy Skinner, Chair Senate Budget Committee<\/div>\n
The Honorable John Laird, Vice-Chair Joint Legislative Audit Committee<\/div>\n
Mr. Chris Woods, Budget Director to the President Pro Tempore<\/div>\n
Mr. Joe Stephenshaw, Staff Director. Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee<\/div>\n
Ms. Jolie Onodera, Legislative Director. Department of Finance<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SACRAMENTO \u2013 Today, the non-partisan\u00a0State Auditor\u00a0released the results of an audit about the Employment Development Department (EDD) originally called for by members of the\u00a0Senate Republican Caucus\u00a0last summer.\u00a0The audit results come after news reports show an increase in the number of backlogged claims and that rampant fraudulent unemployment claims are now at a staggering $11 billion…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":5159,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5158","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-press-releases"],"yoast_head":"\nSenate Republicans Lead Bipartisan Call for Oversight Hearing in Response to Scathing EDD Audit Results - San Diego News Desk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sandiegonewsdesk.com\/?p=5158\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Senate Republicans Lead Bipartisan Call for Oversight Hearing in Response to Scathing EDD Audit Results - San Diego News Desk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"SACRAMENTO \u2013 Today, the non-partisan\u00a0State Auditor\u00a0released the results of an audit about the Employment Development Department (EDD) originally called for by members of the\u00a0Senate Republican Caucus\u00a0last summer.\u00a0The audit results come after news reports show an increase in the number of backlogged claims and that rampant fraudulent unemployment claims are now at a staggering $11 billion...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sandiegonewsdesk.com\/?p=5158\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"San Diego News Desk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-01-27T18:00:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-01-27T22:07:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sandiegonewsdesk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Senate-Republicans.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sandiegonewsdesk.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"San Diego News Desk\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sandiegonewsdesk.com\/\",\"sameAs\":[],\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sandiegonewsdesk.com\/#logo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sandiegonewsdesk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Logo-SanDiegoNewsDesk-Article.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/sandiegonewsdesk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Logo-SanDiegoNewsDesk-Article.png\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":720,\"caption\":\"San Diego News Desk\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sandiegonewsdesk.com\/#logo\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sandiegonewsdesk.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sandiegonewsdesk.com\/\",\"name\":\"San Diego News Desk\",\"description\":\"Your Source for News in San Diego\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sandiegonewsdesk.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":\"https:\/\/sandiegonewsdesk.com\/?s={search_term_string}\",\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sandiegonewsdesk.com\/?p=5158#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sandiegonewsdesk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Senate-Republicans.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/sandiegonewsdesk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Senate-Republicans.png\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":720},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sandiegonewsdesk.com\/?p=5158#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sandiegonewsdesk.com\/?p=5158\",\"name\":\"Senate Republicans Lead Bipartisan Call for Oversight Hearing in Response to Scathing EDD Audit Results - 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