{"id":33760,"date":"2026-01-18T05:27:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-18T05:27:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/?p=33760"},"modified":"2026-01-18T05:27:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-18T05:27:10","slug":"exclusive-rep-feenstra-introduces-bill-to-block-welfare-recipients-from-sending-money-abroad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/?p=33760","title":{"rendered":"EXCLUSIVE \u2014 Rep. Feenstra Introduces Bill to Block Welfare Recipients from Sending Money Abroad"},"content":{"rendered":"

U.S. Representative Randy Feenstra<\/span><\/span><\/strong> (R-IA) has unveiled a new piece of legislation aimed at tightening oversight of public assistance programs and preventing taxpayer-funded benefits from being transferred overseas. The proposed measure, titled the No American Benefits Abroad Act<\/em>, would prohibit individuals receiving means-tested welfare benefits from initiating international wire transfers and would impose new compliance requirements on money transfer providers.<\/span><\/p>\n

Under the bill, financial service companies that facilitate wire transfers would be required to obtain written certification from customers affirming that they do not receive government welfare benefits. Feenstra argues the move is necessary to close loopholes that have enabled widespread abuse of taxpayer dollars, particularly in light of recent high-profile fraud cases.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe $9-billion fraud scandal in Minnesota is a stark warning to the country,\u201d Feenstra said in a statement. \u201cWaste, fraud, and abuse of taxpayer dollars remains a serious and rampant issue, and we cannot tolerate even a single taxpayer dollar being wasted due to criminal activity.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The legislation aligns closely with broader enforcement priorities under President Donald Trump<\/span><\/span><\/strong>, whose administration has recently taken steps to restrict what it describes as welfare-dependent migration. On January 14, the U.S. State Department<\/span><\/span><\/strong> announced a freeze on visa processing for nationals of 75 countries identified as contributing to disproportionately high levels of welfare reliance among new arrivals. Countries affected by the freeze reportedly include Somalia, Haiti, Iran, and Eritrea.<\/span><\/p>\n

Data released by the administration further fueled the debate, showing that more than 80 percent of migrant households from certain countries\u2014including Bhutan, Yemen, and Somalia\u2014receive some form of public assistance after resettlement. In Minnesota, where the fraud scandal has intensified scrutiny, officials report that 81 percent of Somali-headed households are on welfare, compared to 21 percent of native-born households.<\/span><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Scott Bessent<\/span><\/span><\/strong>, the U.S. Treasury Secretary, has escalated federal efforts to pursue those allegedly involved in the Minnesota case. Investigators allege that millions of dollars in federal human services funds were laundered overseas through daycare centers and food-distribution programs that provided little to no actual services. Bessent has announced plans to offer cash rewards to whistleblowers and confirmed that the Treasury is conducting in-depth investigations into multiple money services businesses suspected of facilitating overseas transfers of taxpayer-funded benefits.<\/span><\/p>\n

Feenstra\u2019s bill would effectively codify these enforcement efforts, reflecting Bessent\u2019s push to ban welfare recipients from sending money abroad. \u201cIf someone has enough money to send to foreign countries, they should not be on welfare in the first place,\u201d Feenstra said.<\/span><\/p>\n

The proposal comes amid a broader legislative push to reform welfare-related immigration policy. Earlier this month, Rep. Troy Nehls<\/span><\/span><\/strong> (R-TX) and Sen. Roger Marshall<\/span><\/span><\/strong> introduced the Public Charge Clarification Act of 2025, which would require immigrants to demonstrate financial self-sufficiency before obtaining legal status.<\/span><\/p>\n

Feenstra emphasized that the American safety net must be preserved for those genuinely in need. \u201cThese programs are meant to be a temporary hand-up,\u201d he said. \u201cThis bill protects taxpayers while ensuring public assistance serves its intended purpose\u2014helping vulnerable Americans, not financing foreign money transfers.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

U.S. Representative Randy Feenstra (R-IA) has unveiled a new piece of legislation aimed at tightening oversight of public assistance programs and preventing taxpayer-funded benefits from being transferred overseas. The proposed measure, titled the No American Benefits Abroad Act, would prohibit individuals receiving means-tested welfare benefits from initiating international wire transfers and would impose new compliance…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33760","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33760","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=33760"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33760\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=33760"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=33760"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=33760"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}