The Oversight Subcommittee on the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) held its first hearing, launching a bold initiative to tackle waste, fraud, and abuse within the federal government. The committee, working alongside President Trump and Elon Musk, aims to rein in excessive government spending, increase transparency, and restore accountability in public programs.
At the heart of the discussion was the nation’s $36 trillion debt and the unsustainable financial burden it places on American taxpayers. The hearing also took a deep dive into how the welfare state has fostered dependence, discouraged work, and even penalized marriage, all while failing to provide clear oversight on where taxpayer dollars go.
Here are the key takeaways from the hearing:
1. America’s Welfare State: A System That Punishes Hard Work and Marriage
One of the most shocking revelations was the way current welfare programs penalize marriage and trap low-income individuals in long-term government dependence.
- Robert Rector, Senior Research Fellow at The Heritage Foundation, explained how welfare benefits are determined based on joint household income, creating a “marriage penalty.”
- Reducing this penalty could dramatically increase marriage rates—one study found that eliminating just $1,000 in marriage penalties from the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) would increase marriage rates among low-income women by 10%.
- Welfare programs are structured without incentives to work, meaning many able-bodied adults remain dependent on government aid rather than entering the workforce.
The committee emphasized the need to reform welfare so that it encourages work, supports families, and helps Americans escape poverty instead of trapping them in it.
2. A “Dizzying Maze” of Wasteful Government Spending
Patrice Onwuka, Director of the Center for Economic Opportunity at Independent Women, outlined how the U.S. spends $1 trillion across 80+ anti-poverty programs, creating massive inefficiencies:
- 15 different agencies provide food aid
- 13 agencies handle housing
- 12 agencies oversee health care
- 5 agencies administer cash aid
With no centralized oversight, this duplication of services leads to billions of dollars lost to fraud and inefficiency. The hearing highlighted the urgent need to streamline programs, track spending, and eliminate redundancy.
3. Welfare Programs Lack Work Requirements
A major loophole in the welfare system is that many programs do not require recipients to work.
- States have waived work requirements, allowing people to collect benefits indefinitely.
- Onwuka confirmed that Congress can work with states to close these loopholes and ensure that welfare remains a safety net, not a permanent income source.
- Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas) proposed simplifying welfare programs by introducing a sliding scale for benefits, rather than an all-or-nothing approach that discourages work and marriage.
The committee agreed that implementing work requirements is essential to stopping generational dependence on welfare.
4. The Government Can’t Track How Much It Spends on Welfare
Perhaps one of the most concerning discoveries was that there is no federal record of how much taxpayer money is spent per welfare recipient.
- Subcommittee Chairman Glenn Grothman (R-Wis.) questioned whether the government could track welfare spending per household.
- Robert Rector admitted: “We don’t even know how much money we spend. There’s no federal record of total spending on means-tested programs for children.”
- Welfare recipients often receive benefits from multiple programs simultaneously, yet no system exists to calculate their total aid package.
The DOGE committee emphasized the need for full transparency so that taxpayers know where their money is going.
5. COVID-19 Spending Created Billions in Waste and Fraud
Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) exposed how pandemic-era welfare expansions led to out-of-control fraud and abuse.
- The U.S. government spent between $4.8 and $7 trillion in response to COVID-19.
- No receipts exist for much of this spending.
- Expanded Medicaid programs remain in place, allowing able-bodied adults to stay on welfare instead of re-entering the workforce.
- Today, 60% of able-bodied Medicaid recipients are unemployed, with 25 million Americans reporting no earned income.
The committee underscored the importance of rolling back pandemic-era expansions and ensuring that welfare recipients return to work.
6. The Hidden Cost of Illegal Immigration on Welfare
Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas) exposed one of the most egregious abuses of taxpayer dollars—the funding of welfare programs for illegal immigrants.
- Despite claims that illegal immigrants cannot access welfare, they and their families can receive benefits from over a dozen different programs, including:
- Food stamps
- Medicaid and Medicare
- Cash assistance
- Student loans
- Housing subsidies
- The federal government spends $50 billion annually on welfare for illegal immigrants, while states spend another $100 billion.
With millions of American citizens struggling financially, committee members argued that taxpayer-funded benefits should be reserved for legal residents.
What’s Next? Reform and Oversight
The DOGE subcommittee made it clear:
🚨 Government waste, fraud, and inefficiency will no longer be ignored.
🚨 Welfare must be reformed to promote work, not dependence.
🚨 Americans deserve transparency on where their tax dollars are going.
Moving forward, the committee will assist the Trump Administration in restructuring the welfare state, eliminating wasteful spending, and enforcing work requirements.
With President Trump, Elon Musk, and key lawmakers pushing for real reform, the fight against government inefficiency is just getting started.
Stay tuned as the DOGE subcommittee takes on the swamp and works to restore fiscal sanity in Washington.
Bills at the Hill 
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