The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” signed into law by President Trump last year is putting pressure on state budgets by shifting costs from federal safety net programs like SNAP and Medicaid to the states while reducing state revenue through federal tax changes. A right-wing nonprofit that pushes for reduced spending on anti-poverty programs sees this as a prime opportunity to advance their agenda in state capitals.
The Foundation for Government Accountability (FGA) sponsored state lawmakers at an event in New Orleans from October 7–8, called the “Bayou Briefing,” as detailed in a gift travel disclosure filed by a Republican state lawmaker. At the conference, the FGA put a spotlight on the OBBBA as the bill “that changes everything,” the legislative foundation to advance and codify further policy restrictions in the year ahead. According to the agenda, the group highlighted opportunities in areas ranging from food stamps and Medicaid eligibility to “permanent tax relief” and “school choice expansion.”
The conference aimed to get attendees “armed and ready” with a policy arsenal to fight for their conservative agenda in the upcoming policy battles resulting from the OBBA. “The fight isn't in D.C.—it's in your capitol, and you are the cavalry,” the conference agenda document says.
In one session, the group presented a “full toolkit” of “state-specific todo lists, model legislation, and sharpened messaging,” which, it told the legislators, “arms you with everything you need to carry the One, Big, Beautiful Bill into battle and secure lasting victory.”
The FGA is a Florida-based think tank that works in states to restrict access to programs like SNAP and Medicaid benefits through policy advocacy and a lobbying arm, formerly called the Opportunity Solutions Project and now known as FGA Action. For years, millions in funding has flowed into the FGA from DonorsTrust, the conservative “dark money” conduit used by the Koch and Bradley networks.
States are bracing for higher administrative costs in programs like SNAP, used by 42 million Americans for food assistance, and potential penalties imposed by the Trump-GOP reconciliation bill, also known as the OBBBA, if they are found to be out of compliance. Changes to Medicaid coverage, including new work requirements for recipients, are projected to decrease Medicaid spending by $911 billion and leave 10 million more Americans uninsured through 2034.
