啤酒。烈酒。香烟。色情。这不仅仅是一份可能对你有害的物品清单。这是一份美国人利用联邦法律中的巨大漏洞，用现金福利购买这些物品的清单。幸运的是，各州终于采取行动，以防止这种滥用并保护纳税人，特朗普政府提供了强有力的指导。这是一场持续进行的反欺诈战争中被忽视但重要的新前线。司法部威胁因未报告非法移民而削减向各州提供的数十亿美元福利资金。
Beer. Liquor. Cigarettes. Porn. This isn’t just a list of things that can be bad for you. This is a list of things that Americans are buying with cash welfare, thanks to a massive loophole in federal law. Thankfully, states are finally taking action to prevent this abuse and protect taxpayers, with strong guidance from the Trump administration. It’s an overlooked — but important — new front in the ongoing War on Fraud. DOJ THREATENS TO CUT BILLIONS IN WELFARE FUNDING FROM STATES FOR FAILING TO REPORT ILLEGAL MIGRANTS The latest state to close this loophole is Nebraska.
关闭此漏洞的最新州是内布拉斯加州。10月9日，共和党州长吉姆·皮伦指示该州禁止现金福利受助人将钱用于购买烟草、色情、纹身、占卜和算命服务、豪华手表等物品。今后，如果你在内布拉斯加州通过临时援助贫困家庭（TANF）项目获得现金援助，你将不能用这笔钱购买纳税人本不应承担的物品。美国人或许可以原谅自己会好奇：为什么内布拉斯加州——甚至其他地方——的人曾能够用现金福利购买这些东西？
On Oct. 9, Republican Gov. Jim Pillen directed the state to stop recipients of cash welfare from spending money on items like tobacco, porn, tattoos, psychic and fortune-telling services, luxury watches and much more. Going forward, if you receive money under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program in Nebraska, you cannot spend the money on things the taxpayer shouldn’t be funding in the first place. Americans may be forgiven for wondering why people in Nebraska — or anywhere else — were ever able to buy these things with cash welfare.
毕竟，大多数人认为政府援助只应用于资助家庭所需的特定物品。现金福利尤其旨在帮助低收入家庭“实现经济安全和稳定”。那么，香烟和低俗内容是如何进入这一画面的？支持生命 VS 社会主义：共和党议员就有争议的保证收入计划意见分歧。事实是，联邦规定禁止你在酒类商店等场所使用现金福利。但你仍然可以在杂货店等许多其他地方购买酒精饮料。
After all, most people assume that government assistance is only supposed to fund specific things that families need. Cash welfare in particular is explicitly designed to help low-income families "achieve economic security and stability." So, how did cigarettes and smut enter the picture? PRO-LIFE VS SOCIALISM: GOP LAWMAKERS DIVIDED OVER CONTROVERSIAL GUARANTEED INCOME PROGRAMS It’s true that federal rules stop you from spending cash welfare at places like liquor stores. But you can still buy alcohol at plenty of other places, such as grocery stores.
同样，你不能在赌场或脱衣俱乐部使用现金福利，但你仍然可以在许多其他地方赌博或购买色情内容。这一漏洞大约存在了30年，自TANF项目启动以来——而且其规模之大，几乎令人哭笑不得。
Similarly, you can’t spend cash welfare at casinos or strip clubs, but you can still gamble or buy pornography in plenty of other places. This loophole has existed for roughly 30 years, since TANF began — and it’s so large, it’s laughable.
立法者难道不知道酒精不仅仅在角落商店出售吗？我们国家的领导人难道不知道“成人娱乐”在阴暗俱乐部之外也有提供吗？白宫在国会推动“分水岭”反欺诈改革，而万斯正召集特别工作组。这些远不是现金福利资助的唯一非必需品 — — 而且极其值得质疑的东西。纳税人还能用这笔钱支付音乐会门票、流媒体订阅、纹身以及水疗等奢侈服务。
Did lawmakers not realize that alcohol isn’t just sold at the corner store? Do our nation’s leaders not know that "adult entertainment" is available outside of seedy clubs? WHITE HOUSE PUSHES 'WATERSHED' FRAUD-FIGHTING REFORM IN CONGRESS AS VANCE CONVENES TASK FORCE These are far from the only non-essential — and deeply questionable — things that cash welfare is funding. Taxpayers are also able to pay for things like concert tickets, streaming subscriptions, tattoos and luxury services like spa treatments.
这不禁让人想知道：当国会设立现金福利时，是否对资金的使用方式设定了任何有意义的限制？不幸的是，要一次性关闭这个漏洞，需要另一项国会法案。但幸运的是，特朗普政府已发布指导方针，说明各州如何逐一关闭这一漏洞。各州无法修改现金福利的联邦要求。但它们可以要求联邦政府在州一级批准更严格的要求，这解释了为何近期出现了突然且令人欢迎的进展。
It’s enough to make you wonder: When Congress created cash welfare, did it put any meaningful restrictions on how the money could be used? Unfortunately, closing this loophole in one fell swoop would require another act of Congress. But thankfully, the Trump administration has issued guidance explaining how states can close this loophole, one by one. States can’t change federal requirements for cash welfare. But they can ask the federal government to approve stronger requirements on a state-by-state basis, which explains the sudden and welcome progress.
在内布拉斯加之前，佛罗里达率先采取了有意义的行动来制止这种滥用。八月，共和党州长罗恩·德桑蒂斯宣布，他将阻止现金福利用于购买烟草制品、毒品、色情内容、纹身、电子游戏、算命服务以及其他一系列显然非必需的商品和服务。特朗普政府迅速批准了佛罗里达的计划，德桑蒂斯 rightly 表示，这将保护“真正需要帮助的佛罗里达人”，同时也能防范纳税人遭受欺诈和滥用。
Before Nebraska, Florida took the first meaningful action to stop this abuse. In August, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that he was blocking cash welfare from being spent on tobacco products, drugs, porn, tattoos, video games, fortune-telling services, and a slew of other obviously non-essential goods and services. The Trump administration quickly approved the Florida plan, which DeSantis rightly said will protect "Floridians who genuinely need assistance" while also guarding taxpayers from fraud and abuse.
其他州的领导人还在等什么？任何州竟然允许如此 blatant（公然的）滥用纳税人的慷慨如此之久，这真是令人震惊。也许他们一直在等待国会行动，但鉴于华盛顿特区的 dysfunction（功能失调），这一直只是个遥远的希望。不管怎样，现在正是州长们采取行动的时候了。
What are other state leaders waiting for? It’s shocking that any state has allowed such blatant abuse of the taxpayer’s generosity for so long. Perhaps they’ve been waiting for Congress to act, but given the dysfunction in D.C., that was always a long shot. Regardless, now is the time for governors to act.
最简单的做法是效仿佛罗里达州和内布拉斯加州的做法，直接修改其州计划中的现金福利。州长也可以与州立法者合作，如果他们希望确保更持久的改革，同时追究规避限制的零售商的责任。现金福利漏洞。不应该有人用纳税人的钱来购买预调鸡尾酒和色情内容。海登·杜布卢瓦（注：人名按音译处理，保留原名形式但用中文呈现）
The easiest thing to do is to follow Florida and Nebraska’s lead and simply amend their state plans for cash welfare. Governors could also work with state lawmakers if they want to ensure more permanent reforms, while holding retailers accountable for circumventing restrictions. s cash welfare loophole. No one should be using the taxpayer’s money to buy pre-mixed cocktails and porn. FROM HAYDEN DUBLOIS