Congress created the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to reduce food insecurity among impoverished Americans. At the same time, Congress recognized that welfare programs must foster self-sufficiency. The Trump administration is looking for innovative solutions that improve both goals.

While the Republican House Rules Committee moratorium on earmarks implemented in 2010 is still in place (despite the potential for bringing back earmarks rearing its ugly head not more than a few months ago), $900 million for one special project -- the Gateway Project -- was included in a House appropriations bill, H.R. 3354, just last year. Gateway is a $29.5 billion project for an Amtrak bridge and tunnel upgrade between Newark and New York City, that both states want federal dollars to pay for.

Once in a long while, Congress finds a bipartisan fix for dire issues like prescription drug prices. The CREATES Act is such a solution that would remedy price-hiking loopholes abused by big pharmaceutical companies.

FreedomWorks is proud to announce that our bill of the month for March 2018 is the Defund National Endowment for the Humanities Act, H.R. 5046, introduced by Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.).

The White House unveiled its FY 2019 budget request this morning. Although it's incredibly unlikely that the budget request will become law, it does provide a window into the policy priorities of the Trump administration. Of course, the passage of the Bipartisan Budget Act, H.R. 1892, set the discretionary spending level for FY 2019 at $1.321 trillion -- $716 billion for defense discretionary and $605 billion nondefense discretionary. This level of spending is $153 billion higher than the pre-Bipartisan Budget Act spending caps.

Republicans in Congress have retreated on their pledges to cut spending. How else should one interpret the passage of the Bipartisan Budget Act, H.R. 1892, last week? The bill busts the spending caps by $296 billion over two years ($165 billion for defense and $131 billion for nondefense). Congress added another $80 billion in disaster relief, bringing the total to at least $376 billion.

The bill would blatantly disregard the Budget Control Act (BCA) of 2011 that requires Congress to adhere to budget caps – This bill goes above and beyond, busting the caps by nearly $300 billion over two years, more than twice that of the past two, two-year deals combined