Free Republic

Did you know that the head of the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS) isn't a Lutheran OR a Christian at all? She's a progressive Communist (atheist) who used to work for Obama & Hillary at the State Department and as Michelle Obama's policy director....

Shipwreck @shipwreckshow Food stamp restrictions got folks crossing the register lane just to check what's approved! RFK wasn't messing around. Welcome to the life of "just the necessities" like the rest of us.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced this week that six additional states had been granted waivers allowing them to prohibit Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits from being used on certain processed foods and drinks. Kennedy joined U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins on Monday as Rollins signed the six new waivers, which allow the states to amend what the food assistance benefits -- colloquially referred to as food stamps -- can be used for at the grocery store.

A mishap involving a COVID-era business perk nearly shut down a popular East Bay bakery. And for more than a month, the owner was left wondering: where did all my money go? 7 On Your Side's Stephanie Sierra and our team stepped in to get answers -- and get their money back. $212,853 is a life-changing amount of dough for any small business. And in this case, we were told that it was all left in limbo over a nine-digit number with the IRS. Sarah Torres is the proud owner of A Sweet Affair Bakery in Walnut Creek. The charming...

*** A coalition of 20 attorneys general, led by New York AG Letitia James and California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced the lawsuit Monday, arguing that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s demand that states turn over personal information about SNAP recipients dating back five years, violates privacy laws. SNAP is a federally-funded, state-administered program that provides billions of dollars in food benefits to tens of millions of low-income individuals and families in the United States. The new USDA demands, released last week, require states to provide a list of individuals who have applied or are currently receiving SNAP benefits, in...

New York State Attorney General Letitia James joined California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced at a joint press conference on Monday that they are suing the U.S. Department of Agriculture over demands to turn over Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) applicant data. The attorneys general are leading a coalition of 20 states and Washington, DC in their lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s administration. The coalition argues that the extensive demand for SNAP applicant data will violate residents’ privacy, put immigrants at risk, and hinder the ability of states to provide food assistance to those...

A coalition of 20 states and Washington, D.C. announced a new lawsuit Monday against the U.S. Department of Agriculture after the federal agency told states to turn over the detailed, personal information of food assistance applicants and their household members.

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul has once again joined a coalition of other attorneys general in suing the Trump administration over new rules that could bar immigrants without legal status from health and education programs. The suit, announced Monday, seeks to stop a series of orders from federal agencies that would block people from the early childhood education program Head Start, Title X family planning, adult education, mental health care and community health centers based on immigration status.

Today, at the direction of President Donald J. Trump, the Administration is taking the biggest step in more than 30 years to protect taxpayer-funded benefits for American citizens — NOT illegal aliens. The move, which preserves roughly $40 billion in benefits for American citizens, overturns decades of bureaucratic defiance and builds on President Trump’s executive order directing an END to the subsidization of open borders.Under President Trump, hardworking Americans will no longer be forced to front the cost of benefits for illegals:The Department of Health and Human Services is restricting illegal aliens from 13 additional public programs, including Head Start,...

Everyone knows that the "big, beautiful" tax bill signed into law on the Fourth of July lowers tax burdens for families and businesses. It also averts a $4 trillion tax increase [that would have started] next year. That's enough reason to heartily celebrate.… Here is a list of some of the major policy victories: The law is the most aggressive federal advancement of school choice by allowing low-income parents to direct education dollars to private, charter or Catholic schools that are better for their kids. The law also expands eligibility for personalized medical savings accounts instead of conventional insurance. ......

The Trump administration moved Thursday to block illegal immigrants from accessing taxpayer-funded aid to enroll in educational programs and receive health care benefits. The departments of Education, Agriculture, Labor, Justice and Health and Human Services made separate announcements Thursday, touting savings of around $40 billion. HHS called the change a “significant policy shift” that will “ensure that taxpayer-funded program benefits intended for the American people are not diverted to subsidize illegal aliens.” “Under President Trump’s leadership, hardworking American taxpayers will no longer foot the bill for illegal aliens to participate in our career, technical, or adult education programs or activities,”...

Trump puts an end to illegals and their families sponging off US tax payer dollars. They have just ended illegals sucking money from 13 federal government programs. About time.

WASHINGTON, DC—July 10, 2025—The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today announced a significant policy shift to restore compliance with federal law and ensure that taxpayer-funded program benefits intended for the American people are not diverted to subsidize illegal aliens.HHS has formally rescinded a 1998 interpretation of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA), issued during the Clinton Administration, which improperly extended certain federal public benefits to illegal aliens. For over two decades, the 1998 policy improperly narrowed the scope of PRWORA, undercutting the law by allowing illegal aliens to access programs Congress intended...

ANew Jersey family trying to save their 175-year-old farm from being seized by a local government are getting support from the Trump administration.The Cranbury city government announced its intention to seize the 21-acre farm through eminent domain in order to build low-income apartments, but the Henry family is resisting. On Tuesday, Agriculture Sec. Brooke Rollins said the power of the federal government would intercede in the case on the side of the family."On the phone with Andy Henry of Highland Ranch in Cranbury, NJ. The city govt has approved seizing his 175-year-old family farm via eminent domain for affordable housing...

South Africa can expect roughly 44% of its population (28.7 million) on social grants, relying on only 12% (7.4 million) taxpayers. This imbalance between the number of grant recipients and taxpayers highlights a significant concern for the nation’s fiscal health, as nearly half of South Africa’s 64 million people depend on social assistance. The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) data for 2023/24 underlines the scale of reliance, which includes a range of grants for elderly people, children, disabled individuals, and others in need. Moreover, 9 million individuals receive the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant, initially introduced in 2020...

Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) assailed the Big Beautiful Bill's cuts to Medicaid as "an unfair assault on the heath of America's most vulnerable people. Millions will be denied coverage. Others will be forced to work in order to get health care. When voters find out what Republicans are doing they will vote them out of office." Rep. Erin Houchin (R-Ind) defended the legislation, saying "if you think about the four things that we're doing in Medicaid to strengthen it, you'll see that we're removing any payments that are illegal, ineligible or duplicate, and we're ensuring that able-bodied adults have a...

Perry Carbone, Attorney for the United States, Acting under Authority Conferred by 28 U.S.C. § 515; Charmeka Parker, the Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General (“USDA-OIG”); and Christopher G. Raia, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation(“FBI”), announced the unsealing of a Superseding Indictment charging six individuals in connection with a sprawling fraud and bribery scheme that generated over $66 million in unauthorized transactions under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (“SNAP”)—colloquially known as food stamps. This is one of the largest food...

Youtuber JohnnieGirl exposes Hoodrat who stole from Ulta Beauty but has section 8 and other things for free. The woman who stealing also claims to be slow and mentally ill. She offered to pay for the stolen items on the spot after being caught. Taxpayers this is where your money is going.

the International Monetary Fund has urged governments to encourage fit, older workers to delay retirement. Its recommendation is that people of the baby boomer generation should stay in work for longer to help balance public finances amid fiscal pressures caused by an ageing global population. The IMF said: “The 70s are the new 50s,” and released data that suggested a person aged 70 in 2022 had the same cognitive function as the average 53-year-old in 2000. Physical health had also significantly improved, the IMF found. Governments burdened with historically high levels of public debt, the IMF said, could not afford...

BOSTON – A Colombian woman, unlawfully residing in Boston, has been indicted by a federal grand jury for identity theft offenses, including receiving rental assistance, Social Security and SNAP benefits, as well as voter fraud under the stolen identity. The defendant also allegedly applied for a United States passport and obtained a Massachusetts Real ID and eight other state IDs. Lina Maria Orovio-Hernandez, 59, was charged in a superseding indictment with one count of false representation of a Social Security number; one count of making a false statement in an application for a United States passport; one count of aggravated...