When Washington picks up the states’ tab, waste and fraud follow

This essay is a part of The Right Way Forward, Restoring America’s new think tank debate series in which leading conservative institutions argue the defining questions of the post-Trump era. Read about the series here.

Congress has caught on that how welfare and related programs are funded, and who does the spending, helps explain how much fraud and abuse they suffer. That’s one lesson from last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which is starting to hold states accountable for elevated improper payments involving federal food stamp benefits. A hearing last month suggests that Congress plans to press that theme in future reforms of more programs.

Signed last Fourth of July, the legislation took important steps to reduce food stamp error rates, which more than tripled nationwide between 2013 and 2024 to almost 11%. The new law requires that if states don’t reduce high error rates, they will have to use state funds