Look to Republican-led states that are applying pro-work, pro-growth, and pro-taxpayer principles.
Look to Republican-led states that are applying pro-work, pro-growth, and pro-taxpayer principles.
A mid the nonstop news about the presidential race, the media have ignored some rare good news for taxpayers.
Congress is increasingly unlikely to pass a Farm Bill before the year is out; instead it will probably pass a temporary extension when the current version expires in September. Pro-welfare-expansion Democrats have stalled Republican versions of the Farm Bill, giving Republicans time to regroup on their strategy, with the possibility of a GOP president and congressional majority in 2025. Despite its name, the Farm Bill is overwhelmingly devoted to food-stamp spending, and Republicans’ top priority should be reining in this out-of-control welfare program. Their best bet is to look to the growing number of Republican states that are fixing food stamps based on pro-work, pro-growth, and pro-taxpayer principles.
The need for meaningful reform is obvious and urgent. President Biden has dramatically expanded the food-stamp program, exemplifying his penchant for spending binges, government handouts, and economic ineptitude. Taxpayers are now throwing more than $110 billion at food stamps annually, nearly double what they paid in 2019. The program rolls have grown by more than 7 million people over the same timeframe, and in 2023, some 42 million people were getting this government assistance. About 17.6 million food-stamp recipients are able-bodied adults, and about two-thirds don’t work.
How should congressional Republicans tackle this crisis? They could start by looking at Florida. In June, Governor Ron DeSantis signed a law that requires tens of thousands of able-bodied adults on food stamps to enroll in training, unless they’re already working, which most aren’t. If they don’t enroll, they’ll stop receiving benefits, giving them a strong incentive to get on the path out of dependency.
Then there’s Louisiana, House Speaker Mike Johnson’s home state. On May 28, Governor Jeff Landry signed a bill that ends the state’s use of waivers and exemptions for existing food-stamp work requirements. About 70,000 able-bodied adults will now have to fulfill the legal requirement to find work, turning a handout into the hand up that it was always supposed to be.
Other states have passed strong reforms, too. In Kansas, the Republican-controlled legislature passed veto-proof bills in 2023, expanding the age range of able-bodied adults required to participate in job training. Participation in such programs has more than tripled. Also last year, Idaho enacted one of the strongest food-stamp reforms in history. Idaho now bans any waivers of the work requirement for able-bodied adults, while requiring every able-bodied adult who’s not working to join the state’s employment and training programs. Tens of thousands of people are now moving from welfare to work.
These are the kind of common-sense reforms that Republicans in Congress can easily back. They’re also wildly popular among voters. Last year, 80 percent of swing-state Wisconsin voters cast a ballot in favor of welfare work requirements, which should give Republicans confidence. At the very least, they should rally around stronger work requirements and eliminating state waivers and exemptions that gut work requirements. Nationwide, that could help millions of able-bodied adults move into the workforce, which is to say, from dependency to self-sufficiency.
Congress’s inability to pass a Farm Bill this year is an opportunity for Republicans to unite behind a true reform Farm Bill — one they could pass next year with a friendlier president and congressional majorities. In the meantime, GOP-led states should keep pushing the envelope with their own reforms. As states continue to lead the way, protecting taxpayers while promoting work over welfare, congressional Republicans will be even more likely to follow their example.