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December 23, 2025
The Policy Lessons from Minnesota’s Massive Welfare Fraud
Numerous reviewers have spotlighted shocking welfare fraud perpetrated by members of the Somali community in Minnesota. Writing in the Wall Street Journal, Kim Strassel (“The Lesson of Minnesota’s Fraud”) recently described how “Somali fraudsters bilked taxpayers out of more than $1 billion” while arguing the policy lessons extend well beyond Minnesota’s border. She’s right about…
September 23, 2025
A Second Reconciliation Bill Should Focus On Reducing Deficits
Republicans on Capitol Hill are starting to debate a second budget bill, following the One Big Beautiful Bill signed into law by President Donald Trump on the Fourth of July. That law extends and expands the first Trump tax cuts, which overall increase already large deficits projected ahead. Meanwhile, news accounts suggest Republicans are having…
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…
July 17, 2025
Even after the One Big Beautiful Bill, Loopholes Allow Illegal Alien Adults to Receive Welfare and Other Benefits
One major set of policies Republicans touted in their One Big Beautiful Bill (now officially Public Law 119-21, signed on July 4, 2025) sought to end government benefit payments to illegal aliens. But while the new law advances that agenda, such as by preventing illegal alien parents from receiving federal Child Tax Credit (CTC) payments,…
March 4, 2024
Exploring America’s Social Safety Net And The Political Fights Around It
View the full video here. Our new series, “America’s Safety Net,” is focused on the complex web of programs meant to help Americans in need. Over the coming weeks, we’ll take an in-depth look at the different forms of welfare in the U.S. Up first, Geoff Bennett and producer Sam Lane spend some time explaining…
September 19, 2023
House Budget Plan Proposes Commonsense Welfare Changes
The House Budget Committee, headed by Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-TX), today released a draft budget proposal detailing the majority’s spending priorities and proposed changes across a range of government benefits and programs. Several policies would promote higher levels of work among welfare recipients, which is especially necessary while benefit rolls remain elevated despite plentiful job openings. According to recent research by our AEI colleague Angela Rachidi, less…