Promoting Work Over Welfare
Welfare reform is about independence and dignity.
When done properly, it means preserving resources for the truly needy, safeguarding taxpayer dollars, and encouraging work for able-bodied adults.
America spends more than $100 billion on food stamps alone each year, and without program integrity measures in place, our current course has only trapped people in government dependence and denied millions the opportunity to pursue the American Dream.
The Biden administration’s unlawful food stamp expansion made the situation even worse, keeping an estimated 2.4 million Americans from choosing employment. Meanwhile, many state bureaucracies have exploited federal loopholes to suspend work requirements without cause.
To reverse this damaging trend, policymakers should restore program integrity and the life-changing power of work in all major welfare programs: food stamps, Medicaid, public housing, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).
WELFARE REFORM: THE PATH FORWARD FOR PROGRAM INTEGRITY
FEDERAL
- Implement a universal work requirement at the federal level across all major welfare programs (food stamps, Medicaid, public housing, and TANF) to move nearly 10 million able-bodied adults into the workforce.
- Save nearly $112 billion and preserve resources for the truly needy by closing the federal broad-based categorical eligibility (BBCE) loophole in food stamps, which is routinely abused by states to sidestep federal eligibility requirements.
- Repeal the Biden administration’s unlawful expansion of the Thrifty Food Plan. It is estimated that this dramatic food stamp increase spiked grocery prices by 15 percent.
- Enact commonsense program integrity measures in food stamps to curb waste, fraud, and abuse in the program.
- Push back against any federal rules that would expand Medicaid beyond its intended purpose of serving the truly needy and further weaken program integrity.
STATES
- Medicaid expansion under ObamaCare has led to busted budgets and skyrocketing enrollment in every state. It’s time for states to roll back this disaster—and for the remaining states to refuse to implement it altogether.
- Improper Medicaid payments cost taxpayers nearly $81 billion in 2022. Practical reforms, including comprehensive data cross-checks to determine eligibility and temporary lockout periods for those abusing the system, should be implemented.
- Require able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs) receiving food stamps to participate in state Employment and Training (E&T) programs.
- Eliminate bureaucratic “no good cause” exemptions that allow many able-bodied food stamp enrollees to avoid work requirements.
- Enact a work requirement for public housing like Arkansas did in 2023, make a job search mandatory at the time of a TANF application, and require significant lottery winnings to be intercepted from welfare enrollees to help repay overpayments.
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research
Waivers Gone Wild: Congress Must Crack Down On Food Stamp Loopholes
Despite nearly 10 million open jobs sitting unfilled nationwide, the number of able-bodied adults receiving food stamps remains near record-high levels.
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commentary
End Biden’s Food-Stamp Expansion
Republicans have a golden opportunity to create jobs, control inflation and cut spending—all by fixing one broken welfare program.
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research
Medicaid Mismanagement: How States Can Restore Integrity to the Program While Saving Taxpayers Billions
The Medicaid program was created to provide a safety net for truly needy Americans and was meant to be limited in nature. As a result, program eligibility was intended only for low-income children, pregnant women, individuals with disabilities, and seniors. But over the years, Medicaid eligibility requirements have been expanded countless times, causing the program to balloon in size.
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one-pager
Dispelling Common Work Requirement Myths
Leftist activists presume that leaving welfare is a bad thing that leaves people worse off. Work requirements do not “punish” those in poverty—they encourage people to get off the sidelines and become self-sufficient.
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Our Promoting Work Over Welfare Reform Solutions
Our Promoting Work Over Welfare Reform Experts
Our Promoting Work Over Welfare Reform Research
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ResearchFrom Promise to Peril: How Medicaid Expansion Is Breaking Montana
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ResearchWaivers Gone Wild: The Next Wave in Waiver Abuse
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ResearchBreaking Free From Dependency: A Case For Strengthening Work Requirements
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ResearchWork, Not Welfare, Is the Best Way To Promote Health Care Coverage
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ResearchMedicaid Expansion: Busting Budgets, Bankrupting Taxpayers, and Displacing the Truly Needy
At FGA, we don’t just talk about changing policy—we make it happen.
By partnering with FGA through a gift, you can create more policy change that returns America to a country where entrepreneurship thrives, personal responsibility is rewarded, and paychecks replace welfare checks.