House Passes It 232-188 - Pelosi and Ocasio-Cortez Suffer Embarrassing Defeat
The House of Representatives took a decisive step this week to empower Americans with disabilities who want to work.
House lawmakers passed legislation that renews the Social Security Administration’s ability to test practical reforms and remove the bureaucratic traps that keep too many people on the sidelines.
H.R. 8884, the Removing Barriers to Work for Disabled Americans Act, sponsored by Rep. Austin Scott, R-Ga., cleared the House by a vote of 232-188.
The measure now moves to the Senate, where it has been referred to the Committee on Finance.
At its core, the bill reauthorizes the Social Security Administration’s authority to conduct demonstration projects under the Social Security Disability Insurance program through December 31, 2030, with projects able to run until the end of 2031.
That authority expired in 2022.
The projects allow the SSA to temporarily test changes in program rules designed to encourage beneficiaries who are able and willing to return to the workforce.
Participation is strictly voluntary, and the legislation requires that no participant see a reduction in their total income.
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., underscored the urgent need for the bill during floor debate.
“With over 60 percent of Social Security Disability Insurance recipients expressing an interest in returning to the workforce but less than one percent leaving the program because of a successful return to work each year, the Social Security Administration’s complex rules and regulations are clearly failing to deliver for too many Americans,” Smith said.
“Giving the SSA the authority to test innovative ways to better help disabled Americans pursue gainful employment is pure common sense, and this legislation goes a step further to ensure participation in any new system is both voluntary and will not reduce a beneficiary’s total income,” Smith added.
Smith further noted the “gigantic gap” between those who want to work and those who successfully do so under current rules.
Fear of benefit cliffs, overpayments, and confusing eligibility requirements often discourage people from trying.
The bill restores a proven tool—demonstration authority—that previously allowed the SSA to experiment with better approaches without locking in permanent policy changes until results are known.
The importance of this legislation cannot be overstated.
For decades, the disability insurance program has operated with rigid rules that, however well-intentioned, create powerful disincentives to work.
Many beneficiaries report wanting employment and the independence it brings, yet the system’s structure can punish efforts to earn income by threatening the loss of benefits or creating administrative nightmares.
By reauthorizing carefully designed, voluntary demonstration projects with clear evaluation metrics and income protections, H.R. 8884 prioritizes opportunity over dependency.
This is classic conservative reform: expand pathways to self-reliance, test what works, protect individuals from harm during the testing process, and reject the notion that government benefits should permanently sideline capable people.
It affirms the dignity of work while recognizing that disability does not equal inability.
Expanding the authority to include more individuals, including blind Americans, further strengthens the measure’s reach.
The bill advanced with bipartisan support in the Ways and Means Committee and drew some Democratic votes on the House floor, reflecting broad recognition that the current system falls short.
Yet Republican leadership drove the effort, focusing on practical solutions rather than expanded entitlements or permanent rule changes without evidence.
Next, the Senate must consider and pass the legislation before it can reach President Trump’s desk.
Supporters hope the upper chamber will move quickly, recognizing that restoring this demonstration authority is a low-cost, high-impact step that respects both fiscal responsibility and individual aspiration.
Once enacted, the SSA would regain the flexibility to design and evaluate projects aimed at improving work outcomes, with reporting requirements ensuring transparency and accountability.
Trump Admin Says It Uncovered $10 Billion Obamacare Fraud Scheme
The Trump administration says it has uncovered what it describes as a massive fraud scheme within the Affordable Care Act.
Members of Trump’s administration allege that roughly $10 billion in taxpayer money was improperly paid out between 2021 and 2024 because of weakened enrollment safeguards under former President Joe Biden.
According to a Department of Health and Human Services report, officials have already removed nearly three million fraudulent or improper Obamacare enrollments and estimate another 2.6 million questionable enrollments remain.
Administration officials say the findings are part of a broader government-wide effort to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse across federal programs.
The report traces the alleged problems to changes made during the Biden administration that expanded enrollment opportunities while relaxing income verification and eligibility checks.
At the start of Biden’s presidency, approximately 10 million people were enrolled through the Affordable Care Act exchanges. By 2024, enrollment had surged to roughly 22 million.
Federal investigators now believe millions of those enrollments were improper, fraudulent, or created without the knowledge of the individuals involved.
“By our estimate, improper, phantom, and fraudulent enrollment peaked at 5.6 million people in 2025,” the report states.
“We estimate 2.6 million improper and phantom enrollments remain, including over 1 million enrollments without a Social Security number.”
According to the report, several different forms of abuse contributed to the alleged fraud.
Officials say some applicants intentionally understated their income to qualify for larger taxpayer-funded subsidies.
Others allegedly received premium assistance despite failing to meet eligibility requirements.
Investigators also identified what they describe as “phantom enrollments,” in which insurance brokers allegedly enrolled people in Obamacare plans without their knowledge to collect federal commissions.
The report argues that reduced verification requirements made those practices significantly easier to carry out.
Since taking office, the Trump administration says it has restored stricter income verification requirements, ended several special enrollment periods, increased screening for duplicate Medicaid enrollment, and launched investigations into brokers suspected of creating phantom policies.
Officials also say they have strengthened oversight of agents participating in the federal marketplace.
As a result of those efforts, nearly three million enrollments have already been removed from the Affordable Care Act exchanges.
Even after those removals, approximately 19.2 million people remain enrolled.
The administration says its goal is not to reduce legitimate coverage but to ensure taxpayer dollars are being spent only on individuals who actually qualify.
“Preserving the fiscal and programmatic integrity of the ACA Exchanges is key to safeguarding taxpayer-funded resources for those that truly need them,” the report states.
“The federal government paying brokers to enroll individuals without their knowledge is not.”
The report also says the administration will continue pursuing additional enforcement actions against brokers and others accused of exploiting the program.
“The Trump Administration continues to aggressively root out fraud, waste, abuse, and corruption by promulgating new regulations to improve program integrity, investigating suspected improper or fraudulent enrollment, and taking action against agents and brokers committing fraud.”
The findings are likely to reignite debate over the Affordable Care Act and how aggressively eligibility rules should be enforced.
Supporters of the administration argue the report demonstrates that stricter oversight is necessary to protect taxpayers and preserve benefits for those legally entitled to receive them.
Critics of previous verification rollbacks have long warned that loosening enrollment safeguards could increase improper payments and fraud, while supporters of the Biden-era policies argued the changes made healthcare more accessible to eligible Americans, Fox News reported exclusively.
The administration says its investigations remain ongoing, with an estimated 2.6 million additional enrollments still under review as officials continue auditing the federal health insurance exchanges.
Trump has been pushing to replace Obamacare for over a decade, and this may give Republicans enough motivation to actually do something.
