Chairman Arrington in The Hill: Congress must stop rewarding states for wasting taxpayers’ money

Chairman Arrington in The Hill: Congress must stop rewarding states for wasting taxpayers' money

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) published a joint op-ed with Rachel Greszler, Senior Research Fellow at Advancing American Freedom and Visiting Fellow at the Economic Policy Innovation Center, in The Hill. The op-ed calls for stronger state accountability to crack down on fraud and improper payments in federally funded state administered programs as the national debt nears $39 trillion.

Read full op-ed here or below:

"With our nation nearly $39 trillion in debt, Washington should be budgeting with the same discipline American families use every day. Instead, the federal government spent the equivalent of eight weeks of gas and groceries per household on improper payments last year alone.

"In 2025, Washington wasted approximately $186 billion in improper payments. That's more than we spend on the Department of State, Department of Justice, and Department of Commerce combined-and enough to build 450,000 new homes or buy 3.7 million new cars.

"But that's an understatement because $186 billion includes only the known improper payments, not the unknown errors and fraud.

"While the federal government reported an average of just $6.5 billion per year in "known fraud" over the past eight years, but the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office estimated the federal government loses between $233 billion and $521 billion annually to fraud. On the high end, that's nearly two monthly mortgage payments for every American household.

"Federally funded and state-administered welfare programs are the largest sources of fraud and improper payments. Too often, these programs operate on autopilot-sending taxpayer dollars out the door with inadequate safeguards and almost no consequences for failure. In programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and extended Unemployment Insurance benefits, where the federal government pays the full cost, states are incentivized to capitalize on weak eligibility checks and lax oversight to maximize the flow of federal dollars into their states.

"With the costs spread nationally and the benefits concentrated locally, a tragedy of the Treasury occurs. Detached from the costs, shielded from the consequences, and rewarded for increasing spending rather than safeguarding taxpayers' dollars, it is no surprise that federal grants to the states invite fraud, errors, and abuse.

"Brazen fraud rightly infuriates ordinary Americans. While hardworking child care providers spend thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours complying with regulations before they are allowed to even open their doors, federal child care funds readily flowed to shuttered store fronts in Minnesota. American taxpayers cannot afford to have their hard-earned dollars wasted on fraud and improper payments, and our kids cannot afford to repay these squandered resources plus interest through future taxes.

"The Trump Administration has rightfully insisted on accountability, having already paused certain payments that are ripe for fraud; but lasting accountability requires statutory changes.

"Republicans in Congress have an opportunity to enforce a "Fix It or Fund It" condition on state administered programs to promote personal responsibility, program integrity, and state accountability.

"The One Big Beautiful Bill did this in part by requiring states to pay for most of their improper SNAP payments beginning in 2028 and by limiting waivers for improper Medicaid payments beginning in 2030.

"Skin-in-the-game requirements should be applied to every federally funded and state administered program. Requiring accountability isn't punitive; it's prudent, plain common sense, and strengthens the sustainability of these programs. The power of the purse comes with the obligation to properly steward taxpayers' dollars, not leave the purse open to pickpockets.

"Of course, reducing fraud and improper payments requires knowing how and where they're happening. This is where the federal government needs to adopt proven private sector verification measures so that an ounce of prevention can lead to a pound of cure. When Arizona deployed private sector identity verification, their new claims for unemployment benefits fell 98.8 percent, saving an estimated $75 billion. Had such technology and verification been the norm taxpayers would not have lost up to #319 billion of improper pandemic unemployment benefits.

"Lastly, Congress needs to phase out lax eligibility allowances-like Broad Based Categorical Eligibility-that essentially legalize fraud by making well-off individuals technically eligible for welfare benefits.

"Now is the time to act. With $39 trillion in debt and deficits growing as far as the eye can see, the federal government is barreling towards a fiscal crisis. Weeding out waste, fraud, and abuse is the first place to start in changing that trajectory and restoring public trust in both federal and state governments. Failing to do so will only exacerbate the growing crisis. Households would never spend thousands of their own dollars per year on improper or fraudulent payments. Washington can't either.

"Accountability will not happen overnight, but the path is clear: align incentives, verify eligibility, and enforce consequences. We must build on the progress achieved in the One Big Beautiful Bill and continue delivering on the mandate voters gave to President Trump and Republicans to eliminate fraud in federal spending to make sure what happened in Minnesota never happens again."

BACKGROUND

• Since 2003, federal agencies have reported improper payments of around $3 trillion or more. The Government Accountability Office estimated the federal government loses between $233 billion and $521 billion annually to fraud.
• 15 federal agencies reported $186 billion in improper payments across 64 government programs in 2025 alone.
• Under the House Budget Committee's leadership, the One Big Beautiful Bill took meaningful strides to reduce waste, fraud, and abuse in the two largest means-tested welfare programs, saving around $900 billion in Medicaid and $200 billion in SNAP over the budget window.