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September 9, 2025
SNAP Prioritizes Nutrition in New Administration
As of last month, twelve states had received federal waivers allowing them to restrict the purchase of certain foods under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) based on limited nutritional value. These restrictions, set to take effect in 2026, will prohibit participants from using SNAP benefits to buy items such as soda, candy, and other sugary…
September 3, 2025
About Those “Devastating” Welfare Caseload Reductions
Newly-elected President Barack Obama famously lectured opposition leaders that “elections have consequences.” That’s never been more apparent than in recent Republican-crafted changes projected to shrink welfare caseloads in the coming years. Democrats vilify the changes as “devastating,” never mentioning they will mostly shrink still-bloated welfare caseloads closer to pre-pandemic levels. And by focusing some of…
September 2, 2025
Trump Can Do a Lot to Reduce Homelessness
President Trump has come out swinging on homelessness. After taking small steps to peel back the homelessness bureaucracy early in his term, he issued a far-reaching executive order in July intent on getting homeless people off the streets and into treatment. Over the past couple weeks the administration has taken direct action in Washington, DC to clear homeless encampments…
July 1, 2025
More Information Sharing Means Fewer Taxpayer Losses to Fraud
Last month, Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) introduced a resolution of inquiry objecting to the Trump administration’s development of a “centralized database” that “compiles American citizens’ personal information across federal agencies and departments.” The resolution states that personal information includes “confidential taxpayer, identity, wage, child support, bank account, student loan, health, medical, financial, or other information.” Left unsaid…
June 10, 2025
The Surprising Epilogue to an Infamous Conn Job
In government scandals, some surnames are especially memorable, even decades later. A fugitive financier named Marc Rich (and his partner Pinky Green) were famously pardoned by Bill Clinton in what “reeked of payoff” for contributions to the Clinton Library. Then there’s former Rep. Pat Swindall (R-GA), who was indicted for perjury. The puns write themselves. But nothing…
May 29, 2025
How Non-disabled Medicaid Recipients Without Children Spend Their Time
The reconciliation bill passed by the United States House of Representatives imposes community engagement requirements for childless non-disabled Medicaid recipients age 19–64, starting in 2027. The requirement can be met by spending 80 hours in at least some months either working, going to school, participating in a work program, or doing community service. In a…
May 28, 2025
An Evaluation of Approaches to Cut and Reform SNAP
House Republicans narrowly passed their version of President Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” last week, and the legislation contains major changes to SNAP, including expanded work requirements, reduced federal and state exemptions and shifting more of the costs to states. Changes are likely as the Senate takes up the bill, and Kevin Corinth, senior fellow and deputy…
May 13, 2025
Common-Sense SNAP Reforms Included in House Agriculture Reconciliation Proposal
The House Agriculture committee released budget reconciliation text this week and scheduled a full committee markup. As part of the budget framework passed earlier this year, the Agriculture Committee was tasked with identifying cuts of $230 billion over 10 years. Nutrition programs account for the bulk of spending under the committee’s jurisdiction, with the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)…
May 6, 2025
What DOGE Flagged as Unemployment Fraud Is Just the Tip of the Iceberg—Most of Which Will Never Be Recovered
The Department of Government Efficiency recently spotlighted unemployment benefits paid to tens of thousands of individuals whose reported birthdates indicated they were either children or dead. One claimant’s birthdate even suggested he or she hadn’t been born yet. As Elon Musk said, “Your tax dollars were going to pay fraudulent unemployment claims for fake people born in the future!” The $382 million DOGE identified that taxpayers lost on the associated improper payments is real money. But it’s also just…
April 24, 2025
In Opposing Last Month’s Continuing Resolution, Nearly All Democrats Voted to Shut Down Welfare Checks, Too
The Continuing Resolution (CR) Congress approved and President Donald Trump signed in March reflected a reversal of recent partisan roles on legislation preventing a government shutdown. That is, contrary to recent type, nearly all Democrats cast votes that would have shut down the federal government while Republicans overwhelmingly voted to keep it open. But that wasn’t the…