WBNG Covers Joseph Hernandez’s Binghamton Visit, Calling for Real-Time Oversight for Taxpayers
Republican New York State Comptroller candidate Joseph Hernandez recently visited Binghamton to discuss restoring the Comptroller’s office as an independent watchdog for taxpayers. He was joined by Broome County Republican Chair Benji Federman, and the visit focused on transparency, accountability, and faster enforcement when state programs are abused.
Hernandez said he is running because too much waste is identified only after the money is gone. He argued that audits should not be slow, backward-looking paperwork, and that the Comptroller’s office should audit in real time, catch fraud earlier, and push corrective action while it still matters.
He pointed to the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP) as a clear example, citing audit findings of approximately $1.2 billion in fraud over several years. Hernandez said losses of that scale should be detected and stopped sooner, and that delayed oversight leaves taxpayers paying twice, first through fraud, then through higher costs that follow.
Hernandez also emphasized the scale of Medicaid spending in New York and argued that serious oversight is not optional. He said the state either watches programs of that size closely or invites abuse, and criticized after-the-fact reporting that comes only once the damage is done.
Watch WBNG’s coverage, including the video, here: https://www.wbng.com/2026/01/28/republican-state-comptroller-candidate-joseph-hernandez-visits-binghamton/