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FGA Responds to Trump Administration’s 2018 Budget Proposal

Washington, D.C. — The Foundation for Government Accountability applauds the welfare reform measures proposed in the 2018 budget released today by the Trump Administration.

FGA has long-touted the need for meaningful work-focused reforms of our Medicaid, food stamps, and other welfare programs.

“We know that work is what works to lift people out of poverty,” said Tarren Bragdon, CEO of the Foundation for Government Accountability. “This proposal sends a powerful message that the administration is committed to ‘replacing dependency with the dignity of work.’”

FGA studied the effects of work requirements for able-bodied, childless adults in Kansas and Maine, where requirements to work, train, or volunteer more than doubled the income of welfare recipients.

In addition to work requirements for benefits, the proposal:

  • Provides states flexibility to design Medicaid programs that promote work, contain costs, and prioritize the truly needy
  • Eliminates “categorical eligibility” expansion in food stamps that made millions of higher income households eligible for the program
  • Limits waivers from work requirements for able-bodied adults with no children receiving food stamps
  • Provides states with more flexibility in establishing details of the food stamp program and requires they have skin in the game with responsibility for a small portion of the funding of welfare expansions.

“These proposed changes are a welcome shift from the previous administration’s drive to expand the welfare state,” Bragdon said. “The President is to be commended for setting the tone on welfare reform and taking steps to change the course of history for millions of Americans.”

The Foundation for Government Accountability is a non-profit, multi-state think tank that specializes in health care, welfare, and regulatory reform. To learn more, visit TheFGA.org.

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