There has been bipartisan pushback against the Trump administration’s decision to freeze funding for child care subsidies and other social service programs in New York and four other states.

New York Congressman Mike Lawler, a Republican who represents most of the Hudson Valley, is urging the president to lift the suspension.

Why the feds are holding back $10 billion in funding  

The federal freeze impacts New York, California, Colorado, Minnesota and Illinois, five states that are led by Democrats and represent 25% of the U.S. population. The Trump administration is citing the child care and social services fraud scandal in Minnesota to justify holding back $10 billion in funding.

The Department of Health and Human Services said Tuesday that “Democrat-led states and governors have been complicit in allowing massive amounts of fraud to occur under their watch.”

However, the administration has not yet provided evidence of wide-spread fraud in New York, similar to what has been uncovered in Minnesota.

The Trump administration says the child care and other funds will remain frozen until it determines states are complying with federal requirements.

Lawler criticizes Trump administration’s “broad brush” approach

Lawler said he wrote to the president and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to urge the freeze be lifted, saying the funds subsidize child care and help low-income families pay for basic needs.

“To me, there’s a more common-sense way to deal with this,” Lawler said. “Any fraud uncovered across the country, including in New York, should be investigated and prosecuted, but that doesn’t mean with a broad brush we pull all funding for these critical programs.”

Lawler represents a swing district and regularly pushes back on administration moves that impact New York. He’s pushing state government to be more aggressive fighting fraud, pointing to a recent audit that uncovered Medicaid payments to thousands of people living outside of the Empire State.

“They have never provided the level of oversight of the state government, of the executive branch, that is necessary,” Lawler said.

Fighting social services fraud is an issue that seems to be uniting the major parties.

“We should all be against fraud and I urge every governor of every state — red, blue or purple — to take action to make sure that there is no fraud,” said California Rep. Ted Lieu, a Democrat.