Federal Bill of the Month – May 2026: H.R.8872 – Preventing Waste, Fraud, and Abuse in TANF Act

Introduced by Rep. Mike Carey (R-Ohio), H.R. 8872—the Preventing Waste, Fraud, and Abuse in TANF Act—would be a welcome step toward fiscal responsibility, transparency, and accountability.

The legislation amends part A of title IV of the Social Security Act, which establishes the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant program. Enacted to replace the former welfare system, TANF provides $16.5 billion per year in federal funds to states to design and operate programs that help needy families achieve self-sufficiency, primarily by promoting work. While the aim of TANF is laudable, there is very little transparency about how states spend federal TANF funds.

According to a 2025 analysis by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), “States are required to file various reports on their TANF expenditures with HHS. For example, for certain types of expenditures, states are required to submit annual narrative reports on the types and amounts of benefits provided for certain target populations. However, we found that based on reporting documentation in March 2024, seven states (out of 31 whose reported expenditures required narrative explanations) were missing or had incomplete narratives for fiscal year 2022.”

The GAO recommended that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)—which oversees TANF—creates more stringent controls to track the money being spent. However, “HHS has indicated its oversight of states’ use of TANF funds is constrained by its limited statutory authority. … current law limits what information HHS can collect from states.”

H.R. 8872 helps solve this problem by requiring states to comply with federal payment-integrity rules similar to those currently imposed on federal agencies. The legislation also limits how states can spend TANF money by requiring that assistance only go to families earning less than 200 percent of the federal poverty level. In addition, states would have to use TANF funds more quickly: obligating funds within one fiscal year and spending them within two years, while only allowing a limited reserve of unused funds.

The legislation also tries to prevent states from using federal TANF dollars to replace their own spending commitments. States would be required to certify that federal funds are supplementing—not supplanting—state or local expenditures. In practice, this would constrain states’ flexibility to shift TANF funds into broader (and often wasteful) budget priorities and would push states to maintain more of their own welfare-related spending. The bill further directs HHS to develop a long-term strategy for reducing improper TANF payments nationwide.

Rep. Carey’s bill would spare taxpayers from reckless government spending and hold states and HHS accountable for improper payments and budget creep. For these reasons, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance is pleased to make H.R. 8872 its Federal Bill of the Month for May 2026.