Richard Stern BA

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merri ok

tOok credit for musk kid cancer bill kill

Stern is a graduate of Emory University and holds a bachelor of arts in Economics

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Richard Stern is a policy expert who formerly served as the Director of the Grover M. Hermann Center for the Federal Budget at The Heritage Foundation. He is a graduate of Emory University where he earned a bachelor's degree in economics. [1, 2, 3]

Before his time at The Heritage Foundation, Stern spent over seven years as a Congressional staffer. He was the policy lead for the Republican Study Committee's Budget and Spending Task Force, where he spearheaded the creation of their FY 2020 and FY 2022 budgets. [1, 2]

While he holds similar economic viewpoints to the Koch-funded networks regarding deregulation and limited government, he is formally associated with Heritage and other conservative think tanks (such as Advancing American Freedom) rather than being an official representative of the Koch organizations. [1, 2]

storm no educ

House Republican Study Committee (Jan. 2021-July 2021)

Rep. Jim Banks (**R**-IN)

Policy Professional Staff Member

House Republican Study Committee (Feb. 2019-Jan. 2021)

Rep. Mike Johnson (**R**-LA)

Policy Professional Staff Member

Rep. Tom McClintock (**R**-CA) (July 2018-Feb. 2019)

Legislative Director

Rep. Tom McClintock (**R**-CA) (March 2017-July 2018)

Legislative Assistant

Rep. Steve King (**R**-IA) (June 2015-March 2017)

Legislative Aide

Rep. Steve King (**R**-IA) (June 2014-June 2015)

*Staff Assistant

trips

Trip Sponsors:

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Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024

OG BS START DEC 17

richard a stern jan 29 2024

inflationary

When Congress tried to ram through a “tax relief” bill that would have expanded welfare benefits to illegal immigrants, Heritage was one of the few organizations to raise the alarm. During this debate, a post on X by Richard Stern, director of the Grover M. Hermann Center for the Federal Budget caught the eye of Elon Musk, who reposted it to his massive following. Heritage’s research and messaging was widely credited for stopping this massive spending bill from reaching President Biden’s desk.

AI Overview

In December 2024, Elon Musk heavily pressured Congressional Republicans to strip over a half-dozen pediatric cancer provisions from a major government funding bill, pushing for massive cuts in the name of government efficiency. The excised provisions included vital research authorizations like the Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act and the Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act. [1, 2, 3]

Following the initial scuttling of the bill, the dramatic political maneuvering sparked massive public outcry. The battle over this funding sparked intense debate regarding Congressional priorities. [1, 2, 3]

For a deeper look into the timeline of the legislation and the broader political fallout, you can explore the following perspectives:

The Bulwark: Details on the initial scuttling of the bipartisan budget deal and the immediate collateral damage to children's medical research. [1, 2]

Yahoo: An overview of how Musk's public pressure led to Republicans stripping down the massive funding package.

Reddit: Community discussions aggregating news, sentiment, and the varying opinions on the status of the pediatric cancer research battles. [1]

Rolling Stone: Context on the immediate fallout and the chaotic scuffle to pass the stripped-down version of the funding resolution. [1]

The Latin Times: Reports detailing the removal of pediatric cancer research funds earmarked through 2033. [1]

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Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC) Access: Under existing, longstanding tax rules, filers using an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) are generally barred from claiming the CTC for themselves, but can claim the refundable ACTC on behalf of their U.S.-born (citizen) children. [1, 2]
Legislative Disagreement: Conservative critics and Heritage Foundation analysts argued the bill's expansion of the ACTC would inherently direct more cash to undocumented parents with U.S.-born children. Conversely, proponents maintained that the bill did not introduce new or special loopholes for undocumented immigrants and largely benefited low-income working families. [1, 2, 3]
General "Welfare" Restrictions: Undocumented immigrants are already legally barred by federal law from receiving traditional "means-tested" welfare programs such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). [1, 2, 3,[

BROOKING 2025 BBB?

The bill emphasizes removing benefits for unauthorized immigrants, but they are already ineligible for most federal tax benefits, despite paying nearly $60 billion in federal taxes annually. The new provisions take existing eligibility restrictions further, limiting benefits for many groups who lawfully reside in the U.S., including lawful permanent residents, individuals with temporary work visas, and refugees.

Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024

Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act - Wikipedia:

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ggl

The standalone Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024 (H.R. 7024) ultimately failed to pass the Senate. However, the legislation's core family and business tax provisions were largely absorbed into newer major legislation, such as the subsequent Working Families Tax Cuts Act tom barret grassley and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

Key Tax Overhauls & Current Status

Child Tax Credit (CTC): The CTC was expanded and permanently increased under the One Big Beautiful Bill framework. [1]

Worker & Senior Relief: The new tax policies delivered an average tax cut of several thousand dollars per filer. They include additional deductions for seniors and exemptions from tax on certain overtime pay. [1, 2, 3]

Business Incentives: Crucial capital investment provisions, including 100% bonus depreciation and Research & Development (R&D) expensing, were restored and extended. [1]

Wealth Tax & Billionaire Taxation

The fact that Elon Musk became the first trillionaire has reignited legislative debates. Lawmakers like Senator Elizabeth Warren and Senator Bernie Sanders have renewed their calls for a wealth tax aimed directly at the nation's billionaires. [1, 2]

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AI Overview

Elon Musk made headlines by vehemently criticizing President Trump's major tax and spending legislation. Labeling it a "disgusting abomination" and a "debt slavery bill," Musk targeted the legislation for massively increasing the federal budget deficit by trillions of dollars. [1, 2, 3, 4]

Regarding the January 29, 2024, date and "inflationary tax bill" query:

January 29, 2024: This relates to the timeframe immediately following the House Ways and Means Committee's approval of the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024. [1]

Inflationary Tax Bill Debate: Conservative organizations, including The Heritage Foundation, analyzed the 2024 tax packages (as well as prior legislation) by arguing that extending temporary credits or retroactive business relief without proper funding or spending cuts fuels inflation. [1]

For further review, you can examine the full analysis in the 2024 Annual Report - The Heritage Foundation.

killed in senate? jason Put some corp bene in later bill

in January 2025, Ways and Means Chair Jason Smith (R‑MO 8th), the lead negotiator of the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024, implied that most corporate tax provisions in the bill would be included in the upcoming reconciliation package in the 119th Congress.^[15] BIG UGLY BILL?

Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act - Wikipedia

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AI Overview

The House Ways and Means Committee approved the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024 (H.R. 7024) by an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 40-3 on January 19, 2024. The roughly $79 billion package was subsequently passed by the full House of Representatives. [1, 2, 3]

The bipartisan tax framework—spearheaded by Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden—included several key provisions: [1, 2]

Child Tax Credit (CTC): Expanded the child tax credit to benefit families with lower incomes, modifying the phase-in to apply to each child individually and increasing the maximum refundable amount. [1]

Business Deductions: Allowed businesses to immediately deduct domestic research and experimentation (R&D) expenses rather than amortizing them over multiple years. [1, 2]

Depreciation & Expensing: Extended 100% bonus depreciation for businesses investing in machinery and equipment. [1, 2, 3, 4]

Housing and Disaster Relief: Increased the allocation for the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit and provided tax relief for victims of federally declared disasters. [1, 2]

Employee Retention Credit (ERC): Imposed stricter rules and higher penalties to end fraudulent Employee Retention Credit claims to help pay for the package. [1]

You can track the full legislative history, committee reports, and detailed bill text on Congress.gov. [1, 2, 3]

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off bsBULWARK

THE DECISION BY REPUBLICAN LEADERSHIP to scuttle a bipartisan funding deal on Thursday night has left lawmakers scrambling and others anxiously bracing for a government shutdown.

For a host of issue advocates, however, the prevailing mood in Washington, D.C. was one not of chaos but utter devastation.

The initial deal that congressional leaders had agreed to included a number of key priorities that, in the course of hours, were jettisoned by GOP leaders looking to calm Elon Musk’s pique and satisfy Donald Trump’s demands. And though the slimmed-down bill that Trump endorsed in its place failed to pass the House, few people expected that the initial deal would make a comeback—meaning that many of its components were likely gone for good.

The list of provisions left in the dust heap was lengthy. The initial compromise bill included language to ensure that providers of internet service to rural areas weren’t ripping off customers, to protect consumers from hidden hotel fees, to secure semiconductor supply chains, to restrict U.S. outbound investment in China, even to prohibit deepfake pornography. All those were all gone in the successor bill.

CR ORIG

But some of the hardest cuts to swallow involved medical research. In particular, advocates say, the revised funding bill delivered a devastating blow to the fight against pediatric cancer.

The slimmed-down version was stripped of language that would have allowed children with relapsed cancer to undergo treatments with a combination of cancer drugs and therapies. (Currently the Food and Drug Administration is only authorized to direct pediatric cancer trials of single drugs.) The bill also didn’t include an extension of a program that gave financial lifelines, in the form of vouchers, to small pharmaceutical companies working on rare pediatric diseases. It was also missing earlier provisions that would have allowed for kids on Medicaid or CHIP—that is, poor children—to access medically complex care across state lines.

For political veterans, however, the most striking absence in the revised bill was the language that would have extended funding for the Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Program.

The program, named after a 10-year-old Virginia girl who died from an inoperable brain tumor in 2013, was something of a miracle to begin with. When it passed in 2014, the Obama administration and congressional Republicans had been at a standstill over federal spending. Sequestration cuts had taken a big bite out of the budget of the National Institutes of Health. The $126 million that the bill authorized over a ten-year period to help fund pediatric cancer research was minor compared to the $1.55 billion the NIH had lost in appropriations. But it was also the product of painstaking negotiations, with then-House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) expending significant political capital to ensure that the law got passed.

When it did, it resembled a rare moment of serenity in an increasingly bitter and divided capital. Gabriella Miller’s family, who started the Smashing Walnuts Foundation, attended the signing ceremony.

“It was a turning point in pediatric cancer research and I’ve never been prouder of the entire Congress for rallying behind it,” recalled Rory Cooper, a former Cantor aide.

But the funding needed to be extended. And the bill that the current crop of congressional leaders agreed to earlier this week did just that, devoting an estimated $190 million to the program through 2033.

The presumption among the compromise bill’s authors and advocates was that it would sail through. Rep. Jennifer Wexton and Sen. Tim Kaine, both from the Miller family’s home state of Virginia, put out a press release applauding its inclusion in the continuing resolution. The Facebook page for the Smashing Walnuts Foundation put up a post declaring that the “Gabriella Miller Kids First 2.0” had passed “and will be signed into law!” It was signed by Gabriella’s mother, Ellyn Miller. “From the bottom of my heart,” it read, “THANK YOU!”

That was December 17. By December 19, the provision had been axed from the bill, after Musk went on an X rampage, tweeting that the bill was a Christmas tree that was antithetical to conservative, small-government ambitions and threatening the primary lawmakers who supported it.

Nancy Goodman, the founder and executive director of Kids v. Cancer, called it “a completely heart-wrenching outcome.” Like Ellyn Miller, her child died of cancer (succumbing at the age of 10 to medulloblastoma). And like Ellyn Miller, Goodman had turned her grief into advocacy. She spent four years working on the Give Kids a Chance Act, which would have allowed FDA authorization of combination cancer treatments.

“We spent a lot of time putting together policies with broad bipartisan support to help kids seriously ill,” she said in an interview with The Bulwark. “How can it be that our society is not thinking about the most vulnerable children and doing everything they can to help them? How can we cut this out in the name of efficiency? How does that make sense?”

Goodman said she began to fear for the worst on Wednesday when she got calls from several staffers relaying that House Republican leadership was worried about the fate of the compromise bill and was trying to whip support for it. Those staffers suggested that she and others put together a letter from doctors and advocates and anyone in the pediatric cancer leadership community urging that it remain in the bill. They got more than 740 people to sign on.

“A vote for the funding bill is a vote for children with cancer,” it read.

But then, Musk began posting.

“I started following [Punchbowl’s] Jake Sherman on Twitter. And then I started following him every three minutes,” said Goodman. “And suddenly I saw these tweets from Elon Musk and then just thought, ‘Oh my God, it’s done.’ His tweets were so damning.”

ON THURSDAY EVENING, after even the slimmed-down government funding bill failed, conservatives and Republicans on Capitol Hill suggested that lawmakers try an even slimmer version. Some proposed letting the government simply shut down. As for all the provisions that were in the initial bill, they offered that those could and even should be considered as standalone pieces of legislation when the next Congress convenes. Continuing resolutions, they noted, are not meant to be vehicles to move important pieces of legislation; Congress can craft budgets for that through regular order.

But that hasn’t been the reality in Washington for a while. And Goodman isn’t holding out much hope that things will change. It’s not just that the process will be incredibly laborious—each individual bill will now have to pass each congressional chamber before finding its way to Donald Trump’s desk—it’s that lawmakers may very well have other priorities they feel the need to address.

“The biggest challenge all these bills face is not opposition,” she noted. “It’s apathy.”

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YAHOO

President-elect Donald Trump hasn't yet been sworn in, but his advisor and major financial backer Elon Musk has already killed a bipartisan bill that would have provided money for pediatric cancer research.

As political journalist Sam Stein reports for*The Bulwark*, Congressional GOP leadership has kowtowed to Musk's pressure and kiboshed the budget proposal meant to keep the government open and fund essential functions.

In a barrage of posts — including a 4:15 AM tweet on Wednesday morning — the X-formerly-Twitter owner insisted that the bill "should not pass." By that night, Republicans had shot down the budget proposal — and with it any hope that Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy's Department of Government Efficiency (abbreviated, annoyingly, as DOGE) would be a mere vanity project for the billionaire.

415

Elon Musk

@elonmusk

This bill should not pass

Vivek Ramaswamy

@VivekGRamaswamy

Dec 18, 2024

Currently reading the 1,547-page bill to fund the government through mid-March. Expecting every U.S. Congressman & Senator to do the same.

9:15 AM · Dec 18, 202442.1MViews

Soon after the initial bill failed to pass, Trump endorsed a revised (read: much more limited) version that also failed to pass the House of Representatives, leading to a potential government shutdown.

As Stein points out, the spending bill that Musk murdered contained a veritable conservative wishlist, including money to bolster semiconductor supply chains, protections for rural consumers ripped off by the internet service providers, and restrictions on American investment in China.

Eliminating those provisions — as well as the whole "keeping the government open" thing — is a huge deal. But a bit involving pediatric cancer research is a particularly bad look.

In its original form, the budget proposal would have extended funding for the National Institutes of Health's Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Program, which passed during a similarly gridlocked Congressional session in 2014. Named for a 10-year-old girl who died from a brain tumor the year prior, that program funded a decade of research into causes and cures for childhood cancers like the one that killed Miller — and now, it's unclear what will happen to it now that it's been eliminated from the budget.

In an interview with The Bulwark, Nancy Goodman, the founder of the Kids vs. Cancer nonprofit and mother to a child who died of cancer at just 10 years old, said the exclusion of the Kids First program is a "completely heart-wrenching outcome."

"We spent a lot of time putting together policies with broad bipartisan support to help kids seriously ill," Goodman said. "How can it be that our society is not thinking about the most vulnerable children and doing everything they can to help them? How can we cut this out in the name of efficiency? How does that make sense?"

That kind of pained questioning seems, unfortunately, to be par for the course with this incoming administration — and Trump hasn't even officially taken office yet.

More on Musk: *Elon Musk's Drug Use Means He Isn't Allowed to Enter Certain SpaceX Buildings

REF SAM STEIN

Kill Bill

The federal government is on the verge of a shutdown — and practically at the behest of Elon Musk.

Republican and Democrat representatives had negotiated a stopgap spending bill, proposed by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana), that would fund the government for the next three months, as well as providing over $100 billion in disaster relief and other urgent provisions.

But with a Friday deadline looming, the bill, known as a continuing resolution, is now practically dead on arrival. On Wednesday, president-elect Donald Trump commanded Republicans to kill support for the bill, blowing up the fragile bipartisan agreement.

Someone had been whispering in Trump's ear, though: Musk, a man who's recently made it his life's mission to gut government bureaucracy and slash federal expenditures. A full twelve hours before Trump weighed in, Musk began posting non-stop on his website X, formerly Twitter, disparaging the bill — and calling for the heads of any Republicans that supported it.

Elon Musk

@elonmusk

Any member of the House or Senate who votes for this outrageous spending bill deserves to be voted out in 2 years!

6:17 PM · Dec 18, 202450MViews

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"This bill should not pass," he posted at 4:15 am [VIVEK] on Wednesday to his over 200 million followers. By the end of the day, he had posted over 100 times, leveraging his enormous popularity to put pressure against the bill.

"Stop the steal of your tax dollars!" Musk posted that afternoon. "Call your elected representatives now. They are trying to railroad this thing through today!"

Elon Musk

@elonmusk

Stop the steal of your tax dollars! Call your elected representatives now. They are trying to railroad this thing through today!

Mario Nawfal

@MarioNawfal

Dec 18, 2024

🇺🇸WTF IS AN OMNIBUS, AND WHY IS CONGRESS USING IT TO RUIN CHRISTMAS? An omnibus bill is Congress’s sneaky way of bundling a ton of unrelated stuff into one giant package. It’s like cramming all your holiday leftovers—good and

Shalt Not Pass

The episode is a testament to Musk's outsized political influence, even though he doesn't have a formal executive role in the incoming Trump administration.

"Our constituents, the people who elected us, are listening to Elon Musk," Rep. Andy Barr (R-Kentucky), told*The Wall Street Journal*. "My phone was ringing off the hook today."

It's not an exaggeration to say that one very rich man's all-day Twitter spree has helped determine the very functioning of government — namely, that it should barely function at all until lawmakers capitulate to his and Trump's demands.

Musk's threats of ousting any Republican that doesn't toe the line aren't to be taken lightly, either. If he was willing to spend $200 million to elect Trump, he could certainly afford to spend smaller sums to replace pesky representatives with more servile challengers.

And if Musk further has it his way, he'd keep the government shut down for an entire month.

"No bills should be passed Congress until Jan 20, when [Donald Trump] takes office," he posted during his X-spree. "None. Zero."

Elon Musk

@elonmusk

No bills should be passed Congress until Jan 20, when @realDonaldTrump takes office. None. Zero.

7:13 PM · Dec 18, 202464.4MViews

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DOGEs of War

Yet this is just a preview of what Musk will be able to carry out now that he's in Trump's inner circle.

Musk will co-chair the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, with fellow billionaire and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, which will be an advisory body — not a position in Trump's cabinet.

Still, if Musk's online tirades are anything to go by, it's apparent that DOGE's real power will reside in essentially being a propaganda arm for the administration, bolstered with the legitimacy of sounding like it's a real department.

He's already hailing the moribund state of the bill as a major victory.

"Your elected representatives have heard you and now the terrible bill is dead," Musk tweeted. "The voice of the people has triumphed! VOX POPULI VOX DEI."

Elon Musk

@elonmusk

Your elected representatives have heard you and now the terrible bill is dead. The voice of the people has triumphed! VOX POPULI VOX DEI

8:58 PM · Dec 18, 202456.6MViews

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More on Elon Musk:*Elon Musk Being Investigated for Violating Terms of "Top Secret" Clearance

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MADDOW

Some, but not all, funding for cancer research survived federal spending deal chaos

It looked like funding for the Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Program wasn't going to make it — until something unusual and unexpected happened.

Dec. 27, 2024,

By Steve Benen

By now, the basic elements of last week’s drama on Capitol Hill are widely known. House Speaker Mike Johnson reached a bipartisan agreement to prevent a government shutdown; Elon Musk and a variety of Republican officials balked; GOP officials started stripping measures from the legislation; and eventually a package worked its way to the White House before the deadline.

Of particular interest, however, were the federal investments in cancer research that Republicans removed from the agreement. Because we discussed this last week, it’s important to emphasize that one of the measures that was eliminated ended up becoming law anyway. The New York Times reported:

After a tumultuous few days, President Biden on Saturday signed into law a spending bill that had been heavily trimmed down to 120 pages from 1,547. It had lost provisions targeting hidden fees on concert tickets and criminalizing the publication of some deepfake pornography. But two of the measures that had been dropped from the final bill … were salvaged as separate bills and passed by the Senate.

This gets a little complicated, but bear with me.

There were several measures related to cancer research that House Republicans scrapped, including efforts to make it easier for low-income families to cross state lines for medically complex pediatric cancer treatments, as well as bills intended to encourage production of new pediatric cancer treatments.

The Bulwark’s Sam Stein, an MSNBC contributor, also reported that GOP lawmakers ended funding for the Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Program — named after a 10-year-old Virginia girl who died from an inoperable brain tumor in 2013 — that helped to fund pediatric cancer research. The policy had long enjoyed bipartisan support, and since it was up for reauthorization this year, no one was especially surprised when it was included in the stopgap bill, ensuring that the program would continue for another decade.

When House Republicans took out their editing pens, however, the program was removed, too.

The bad news for health advocates is that nearly all of the measures related to cancer research could not be rescued before lawmakers wrapped up their work. The good news for health advocates is that Senate Democrats, taking advantage of the fact that the Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Program passed the House months earlier as a freestanding bill, successfully sought unanimous consent to save the policy and keep the initiative in place through 2031.

At this point, some readers are probably asking a good question: If the legislation already passed the lower chamber months earlier, why didn’t the Senate Democratic majority bring it to the floor earlier? Why blame House Republicans for killing a bill related to pediatric cancer research if the GOP-led House already advanced the program?

Opinion

Cancer nearly left my kids without a mom. Funding cuts may halt the science that saved me.

Jenney Bitner

News

The federal government has shut down — for now

Sydney Carruth

I’m afraid this is the complicated part. Because of the way the Senate operates, and the time it takes to pass anything through the upper chamber, the Senate generally avoids taking up relatively small, standalone policies. The calendar just won’t allow it. Members instead wait for larger spending packages and simply attach the smaller bills.

To be sure, we can have a discussion about whether Capitol Hill should work this way, but there can be no doubt that this is how the modern congressional process works.

It’s precisely why House Republicans were blamed last week for eliminating the program: GOP members understood that by taking the items related to cancer research out of the continuing resolution, they were necessarily putting the programs in real jeopardy.

Fortunately, Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia stepped up and rescued the Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Program, so this element of the larger effort survived the Republican editing process.

The same cannot be said of the other cancer-related measures — efforts to make it easier for low-income families to cross state lines for medically complex pediatric cancer treatments, as well as bills intended to encourage production of new pediatric cancer treatments — that were supposed to be a part of the spending package, but didn’t make the final package after being removed by House GOP leaders.

:{*:{This post updates ourrelated earlier coverage}:

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7 sites

Pediatric cancer research cut from spending legislation at last minute

Jan 10, 2025 — The bills were jettisoned following Elon Musk's demands to cut frivolous expenditure for the sake of “government efficiency.” The ...

The Cancer Letter

GOP spending bill cut kids cancer research, drawing sharp backlash

Dec 20, 2024 — But Congress did not pass other pediatric cancer research measures that had been stripped from the government-funding bill. Prior ...

www.statnews.com

The Awkward Truth About Trump, Musk, and Kids With Cancer - Yahoo

Mar 5, 2025 — She added: “It's not like the most rigorous advocacy you've ever witnessed in your life, but what could be stronger? The bill gets...

This is for informational purposes only. For medical advice or diagnosis, consult a professional. AI responses may include mistakes. Learn more

Web results

[### Elon Killed the Budget Deal. Cancer Research for Kids ...

The Bulwark

https://www.thebulwark.com › elon-musk-killed-budget...

Highly cited](https://www.thebulwark.com/p/elon-musk-killed-budget-deal-children-cancer-funding-collateral-damage)

Dec 19, 2024 — “A vote for the funding bill is a vote for children with cancer,” it read. But then, Musk began posting. “I started following [Punchbowl's] Jake ...Read more

Missing: DEFEAT ‎| Show results with: DEFEAT

[### Elon Musk Bullies Congress Into Cutting Funding for Child ...

Yahoo

https://www.yahoo.com › news › elon-musk-bullies-co...](https://www.yahoo.com/news/elon-musk-bullies-congress-cutting-194156995.html)

Dec 20, 2024 — Elon Musk has already killed a bipartisan bill that would have provided money for pediatric cancer research.Read more

Cites The Bulwark

Missing: DEFEAT ‎| Show results with: DEFEAT

[### 6 policies stripped from GOP bill after Trump, Musk rebellion

The Washington Post

https://www.washingtonpost.com › ... › Economic Policy](https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/12/20/musk-trump-children-health-debt/)

Dec 21, 2024 — Two other items — funds for pediatric cancer research and the transfer of RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., to the District government — were cut ...Read more

Missing: KILL ‎| Show results with: KILL

[### What Happened to Pediatric Cancer Research and ...

First Focus on Children

https://firstfocus.org › Updates](https://firstfocus.org/update/what-happened-to-pediatric-cancer-research-and-treatment-in-congresss-recent-tragic-political-drama/)

Jan 2, 2025 — Despite bipartisan agreement on measures to address pediatric cancer, Congress largely failed to act and left behind critical legislation aimed at saving young ...Read more

Missing: DEFEAT ‎| Show results with: DEFEAT

Web results

[### Fox Host Demolishes Musk Over New Spending Bill's Child ...

The Daily Beast

https://www.thedailybeast.com › fox-host-demolishes-mu...](https://www.thedailybeast.com/fox-host-demolishes-musk-over-new-spending-bills-child-cancer-research-cuts/)

Dec 20, 2024 — Fox Host Demolishes Musk After New Spending Bill Cuts Child Cancer Research ... “It's a drop in the bucket,” Jessica Tarlov said of the program's ...Read more

Missing: KILL ‎| Show results with: KILL

[### Republicans Quietly Remove Child Cancer Research ...

Latin Times

https://www.latintimes.com › ... › Elon Musk](https://www.latintimes.com/republicans-quietly-remove-child-cancer-research-funds-budget-after-elon-push-kill-government-569876)

Dec 20, 2024 — Republicans quietly removed a bill that would have funded pediatric cancer research through 2033, according to a report.Read more

Cites The Bulwark

[### How an unelected, billionaire killed crucial government ...

YouTube · MS NOW

84.4K+ views · 1 year ago](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5r6Y7mZX40)

... Musk tanked a bi-partisan agreement in ... How an unelected, billionaire killed crucial government funding for children's cancer research.

Missing: BILL ‎| Show results with: BILL

[### GOP Cuts Child Cancer Research From Funding Bill After ...

Rolling Stone

https://www.rollingstone.com › politics › politics-news](https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/gop-cuts-child-cancer-research-funding-bill-musk-1235212295/)

Dec 19, 2024 — Republicans removed funding for child cancer research from a new version of a bill to fund the government after Elon Musk torpedoed the ...

Some, but not all, funding for cancer research survived ...}:

MS NOW

https://www.ms.now › maddowblog ›](https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/-not-funding-cancer-research-survived-federal-spending-deal-chaos-rcna185582)

Dec 27, 2024 — Why blame House Republicans for killing a bill related to pediatric cancer research if the GOP-led House already advanced the program?Read more

Missing: DEFEAT ‎| Show results with: DEFEAT

[### What's going on with Elon Musk and cancelling cancer ...

Reddit · r/OutOfTheLoop

430+ comments · 1 year ago](https://www.reddit.com/r/OutOfTheLoop/comments/1hk876a/whats_going_on_with_elon_musk_and_cancelling/)

https://www.msnbc.com/deadline-white-house/watch/how-an-unelected-billionaire-killed-crucial-government-funding-for-children-s-cancer-research-227618885597

438 answers · Top answer: Answer: cutting Government spending is popular ...

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ggl

Heritage Econ Expert Reacts to First Rate Cut in Four Years

Sep 18, 2024 — This marks the first cut since 2020 and comes just seven weeks before Election Day. Richard Stern, director of the Grover M. Herma...

The Heritage Foundation

Why Debt Limit Is Indispensable Tool to Ensure Limited Government

Nov 18, 2021 — Richard Stern was Director of the Grover M. Hermann Center for the Federal Budget at The Heritage Foundation.

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Much has been written about the One Big Beautiful Bill Act since it was signed into law last summer, but one of its more interesting provisions has been somewhat overlooked: the expansion of charitable contribution benefits for all taxpayers, which allows all Americans to potentially lower their tax bills by giving to qualified organizations.

This provision underscores how free-market capitalism and philanthropy complement one another, reminding us that conservative governance can foster both prosperity and generosity.

Historically, only taxpayers who itemized could take advantage of charitable contributions, which in recent years has included only about 10 percent of taxpayers on average. Furthermore, these itemizers tend to be the most well-off Americans.

For many Americans who opt for the standard deduction, donations have yielded no tax advantages. The new law changes this dynamic. Taxpayers who take the standard deduction can now claim an “above-the-line” adjustment for charitable contributions up to $1,000 for single filers and $2,000 for married filing jointly. This means that everyday acts of generosity, like giving to a veterans’ support organization or funding environmental conservation efforts through a nonprofit, can now reduce taxable income and potentially turn a tax bill into a refund.

The bill also added a floor on charitable deductions for (typically high-income) itemizers. Specifically, to qualify for the deduction, an itemizer’s annual giving must be at least 0.5 percent of their income. For example, an itemizer earning $1 million in income can only deduct charitable giving exceeding $5,000. Previously, high-earners giving modest amounts could claim tax deductions, while charitable deductions were denied to most low-and moderate-earners giving the same amount.

The above-the-line charitable deduction provision is a triumph for conservative principles. As influential economists like Milton Friedman, Adam Smith, and Thomas Sowell have emphasized, free-market capitalism flourishes through voluntary cooperation and exchange, prioritizing individual choice over coercive mandates.

By offering a modest “above-the-line” deduction for charitable contributions, this legislation encourages philanthropy without direct wealth redistribution or new government spending programs, allowing more taxpayers to potentially reduce their tax liabilities through personal and voluntary generosity. Ultimately, it’s a policy that avoids taking from one group to benefit another, instead enabling Americans to retain more of their earnings while supporting causes they value.

Beyond that, we should not underestimate the positive impact this reform may have on our culture. By extending this advantage to all tax filers, it will promote the act of charity. Increasing the focus on the nonprofit sector will highlight the value of these nongovernmental initiatives and the work of the passionate and talented entrepreneurs that are harnessing charity to improve quality of life. The value of fostering a culture that supports and idealizes this kind of work may pay cultural, as well as financial, dividends long into the future.

...At a time when government overreach seems too much, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act stands out as a beacon of principled reform. It’s a testament to the Trump administration’s focus on helping all Americans, not just the wealthy. The change in the treatment of charitable contributions is a clever provision, standing as a reminder that conservative governance can foster both prosperity and generosity.

Richard Stern is acting director of the Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies at the Heritage Foundation and director of its Grover M. Hermann Center for the Federal Budget. Spencer Skalleberg is a member of Heritage’s Young Leaders Program.

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Less Charitable Giving, More Givers Likely with OBBB Tax Changes Compared to Previous Law, Study Finds

Tuesday, March 17, 2026

Future U.S. charitable giving is expected to be lower under new tax provisions included in the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) law enacted in 2025 than it otherwise would have been under previous law, according to a new research report researched and written by the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy and presented by CCS Fundraising. The study also estimates that more households will give to charity than previously gave.

The report, Philanthropy Outlook: Estimating Effects on Charitable Giving from the One Big Beautiful Bill,estimates how specific policy changes in the new law (also known as 2025 H.R. 1 and Public Law 119-21) will affect both household and corporate giving, as well as the combined effects on giving. The research provides estimates of the anticipated shift in giving behavior resulting from each of the policy changes, holding everything else constant (e.g., income, wealth, GDP, the stock market, and other factors). It thus represents long-run annual effects of the policy changes, rather than predictions for any particular year.

What to Know

Overall, the OBBB is estimated to lower charitable giving by about $5.69 billion per year compared to previous law. That is roughly equivalent to about 1% of all U.S. giving.
The number of U.S. households who give is estimated to increase by about 8 million.
Total corporate giving is estimated to be approximately $1.55 billion lower, or -3.5% of total corporate giving.
The above effects may not be fully seen in the first year the law is in effect, as it may take some time for taxpayers to become aware of and adapt to the new policies.

“Tax policy changes shape charitable giving, and their effects vary across different policies, types of donors and ways of giving,” said Patrick M. Rooney, Ph.D., professor emeritus of philanthropic studies and economics at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. “Changes that affect high-income households and large corporate donors have the greatest influence on total giving levels. Policies that broaden incentives to give, such as the newly enacted universal charitable deduction, are likely to increase the number of people who give.”

Why this Matters

Different nonprofits may experience the decrease differently. The overall estimated decrease in giving is fairly slight relative to total U.S. giving; however, some nonprofits may feel it more acutely. Organizations whose giving comes disproportionately from households in the top 37% tax bracket or that rely heavily on corporate giving could see a larger impact.
Nonprofits that alert their potential donor base to new opportunities may see more giving in the short term. An increase in giving tied to new the universal charitable deduction (UCD) for people who don’t itemize on their income taxes will come from households who realize that they now have this opportunity.
Nonprofits may experience shifts in the timing and structure of some gifts as households and especially corporations who are close to the deduction floor on their taxes annually may “bunch” their gifts and instead give and deduct biennially. This may affect how nonprofits solicit and receive gifts.
More smaller-dollar donors are likely to contribute to nonprofits due to the introduction of a UCD. Some types of charitable organizations, such as those providing basic human services, rely more heavily on smaller contributions.
Most corporations no longer have a tax incentive to donate. Charities will need to make their case based on philanthropic and community-based values, as well as enhancing the brand and image of the corporations to consumers, employees and shareholders.

“Changes to tax policy can introduce new complexities for charitable giving, and they can also create opportunities for more donors to engage meaningfully in philanthropy,” says Greg Hagin, Managing Partner at CCS Fundraising. “This is a moment for nonprofits to adapt with clarity by educating supporters and refining strategies that welcome both major contributions and the cumulative strength of smaller gifts. At CCS, we view shifts like these as catalysts for more resilient fundraising.”

Diving Deeper

The report examines three provisions included in the OBBB that affect household charitable giving in different ways:
The capped UCD for households who don’t itemize on their taxes is estimated to increase total charitable giving by approximately $4.39 billion annually – a 1.1% increase in household giving. The UCD is also estimated to increase the number of households that give.
The 0.5% floor for giving (meaning that only charitable giving that exceeds 0.5% of income can be deducted) for households who itemize is estimated to reduce household giving by approximately $2.43 billion, or 0.6% of total household giving.
The 35% cap on all deductions, including gifts to charities, for households in the 37% income tax bracket is estimated to decrease household giving by $6.1 billion, or 1.6% of total household giving.
The 1% floor on corporate charitable deductions is estimated to decrease total corporate giving by approximately $1.55 billion annually.

_Methodology:_ Using the most up-to-date data and policy research, the researchers developed frameworks to estimate the impact of each of the policy changes in detail, holding everything else constant, and presenting a range of plausible options for each estimate under different possible patterns of behavior. The estimated plausible ranges and the full methodology are in the full report.

Read the full report

About the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy

The Lilly Family School of Philanthropy is dedicated to improving philanthropy and the world by training and empowering students and professionals to be innovators and leaders who create positive and lasting change

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:{:{A mericans have witnessed the effects of public policy that isn’t grounded in sound economics, from runaway deficits, sky-high inflation, falling real wages, and sagging economic optimism. But in today’s woke academic world, economists who want to conduct research on the benefits of limited government and the free exchange of goods and services are at a severe disadvantage—not only in numbers but in the ability to get financial support for their research from existing institutions.}:

In 2024, Heritage embarked on another bold plan: to establish the Institute for Research Economics (IRE). The goal of the IRE is to build a community of scholars, create opportunities for new scholars and those pursuing doctorates, extend our reach into academia, enhance Heritage’s reputation for superior policy research, and create a vital new hub for scientific excellence in the shadow of Capitol Hill. Heritage enlisted esteemed economists Robert Barro and Charles Calomiris to ...}:

Heritage enlisted esteemed economists Robert Barro and Charles Calomiris to oversee the project. When fully up and running, IRE will feature a regular stable of full- and part-time scholars, host regular seminars, and publish a regular working paper series, including a blog edited by Barro and Calomiris. As part of Heritage’s commitment to academic excellence, IRE scholars will be free to follow the paths dictated by objective scientific inquiry.

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EJ Antoni, research fellow with the Grover M. Hermann Center for the Federal Budget, joined the Kevin Roberts Show to talk about Bidenomics and how to restore the American dream.

:{:{REVERSING THE GROWTH OF REGULATIONS, SPENDING, AND INFLATION I n the past year, the national debt skyrocketed by more than $2 trillion, interest on the debt topped defense spending for the first time in history, and regulatory costs exploded. At the same time, families struggled to make ends meet, and real wages remained well below where they were at the start of 2021. As bad as these numbers are, they would have been far worse had your support not provided the resources for Heritage to stand against the Uniparty in Washington.}:

Even in a hostile political environment, you provided our experts the resources they needed to uncover the worst spending abuses, fight against the BidenHarris administration’s regulatory onslaught, and expose the truth about jobs and wages that the corrupt mainstream media wanted to keep hidden. For example, our educational work detailing the serious flaws in a bill that would have expanded welfare and business subsidies proved instrumental in its demise. Our experts provided ammunition to lawmakers to hold discretionary spending growth below GDP growth and to rein in unaccountable taxpayer money being thrown at the Ukraine war.

At the same time, Heritage scholars attacked BidenHarris administration regulations by filing dozens of substantive comments in response to proposed rules to delay and eliminate bureaucratic overreach. These efforts paid off. For example, after Heritage filed a detailed comment on a proposed labor rule that would hamstring franchises—calling the regulation “arbitrary and capricious”—a federal }:

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richard a stern jan 29 2024

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11 25 context

MAHA Slams “Corporate Capture” While Trump Strips Regulations

between frenzied claims about Tylenol and disparaging remarks about autism, the voices of the “Make America Healthy Again” movement empowered by President Donald Trump have directed criticism at the country’s massive food, pharmaceutical, and chemical industries — still-too-rare targets for the leaders of either political party in the U.S.

When the White House unveiled its comprehensive report on how to “Make Our Children Healthy Again” in May, it slammed “corporate capture” of regulatory bodies and argued that companies responsible for making children less healthy wield undue influence in Washington. A subsequent strategy report, released last month, called to “protect public health from corporate influence.”

“It was one of the first times I saw the federal government actually call out corporate capture and how chemical companies influence regulation,” said Darya Minovi, a senior analyst for the Center for Science and Democracy.

But the Trump administration’s political marriage of unbridled crony capitalism and fringe health conspiracism is not without its contradictions.

While the “Make America Healthy Again,” or MAHA, movement preaches a healthy utopia for the nation’s children free of real and imagined toxins, public health experts say the Trump administration has pursued an aggressive deregulation campaign that has opened the floodgates for toxic chemicals in our food, water, and air — while also defunding vital medical research and spreading dangerous medical misinformation.

“There’s a lot of rhetoric about problems that they’re solving,” Minovi said. “But when I’m looking at the actual actions that the administration is taking, largely, these actions are not making any kids or families healthier.”

A glaring tension between the MAHA movement’s purported goals and the Trump administration’s aggressive deregulatory strategy is the issue of environmental toxins, particularly PFAS, also known as forever chemicals, found in many household items.

These chemicals, which can disrupt liver, kidney, and thyroid functioning, are especially harmful to children.

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Trump EPA’s Next Move: Making It Harder to Sue for Getting Cancer from Roundup

https://theintercept.com/2025/03/21/trump-epa-monsanto-roundup-bayer-cancer-chemicals/)

The strategy report, drafted by the Make America Healthy commission led by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., laid out a series of recommendations to “end chronic childhood disease,” which included studying the cumulative effect of chemicals in the environment. But in May, the Environmental Protection Agency announced that it was rolling back restrictions on the acceptable levels of these forever chemicals within drinking water, which were put in place during the Biden administration. And in the spring, the agency ended a grant to research children’s exposure to chemicals from soil and dust, accordingto the KFF Health News.

“When it comes to actually taking action, we’re not really seeing policies that are getting ahead of corporate capture and holding the chemical industry responsible,” Minovi said.

Over the coming months, the EPA has announced it will take 31 separate deregulatory actions, including loosening restrictions on power plants that emit air pollution and eliminating safeguards put in place during the Biden administration for petrochemical accidents.

Previously, Richard directed both the Thomas A. Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies and the Grover M. Hermann Center for the Federal Budget at The Heritage Foundation. In these roles, he led efforts to craft balanced alternative federal budgets (including Heritage’s annual Budget Blueprint), co-chaired the Regulation, Inflation, and Spending Elimination (RISE) campaign.

His work has frequently appeared in major media outlets, been featured on RealClearMarkets and he has testified before Congress on multiple occasions while appearing numerous times on networks like Newsmax, Fox, Fox Business, and CNBC.

Before joining Heritage, Richard spent over seven years on Capitol Hill as a congressional staffer. He served as a key policy staffer for the Republican Study Committee (RSC), where he led the Budget and Spending Task Force. He also held positions as Legislative Director for Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA) and Legislative Assistant for former Rep. Steve King (R-IA).

### Who Pays the Aluminum Tariff - A Data Driven Assessment of Section 232

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[### Richard Stern

The Heritage Foundation

https://www.heritage.org › staff › richard-stern](https://www.heritage.org/staff/richard-stern)

Richard Stern was Director of the Grover M. Hermann Center for the Federal Budget at The Heritage Foundation. This person is no longer a staff member at The ...Read more

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[### Richard Stern

Advancing American Freedom

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Before joining Heritage, Richard spent over seven years on Capitol Hill as a congressional staffer. He served as a key policy staffer for the Republican ...Read more

[### Bio for Richard Stern Director, Grover M. Hermann Center ...

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Richard Stern is the Director of the Grover M. Hermann Center for the Federal Budget at The. Heritage Foundation. Prior to joining Heritage, Stern was a ...Read more

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... Richard Stern, director of the Heritage economic policy studies institute. ... Koch brothers, Philip Morris, and other corporate sources.Read more

[### Heritage Foundation SourceWatch

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The Heritage Foundation has received funding from organizations with connections to the Koch ... Richard Stern, Senior Policy Analyst, Budget Policy, Grover M.Read more

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WGN Radio 720

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[### "Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaire$ Behind ...

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[### Shrinking Government, Growing Prosperity with Richard ...

YouTube · Let People Prosper with Dr. Vance Ginn

50+ views · 1 year ago](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHiTn2K3brk)

... Richard Stern, Director of the Grover M. Hermann Center for the Federal Budget at the Heritage Foundation, to discuss the moral and economic ..

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[### Richard Stern | C-SPAN.org

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Richard Stern is a Director for the Grover M. Hermann Center for the Federal Budget in the Heritage Foundation with one video in the C-SPAN Video Library.Read more

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[### Opinion: The high cost of big government — A heist on ...

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Apr 21, 2025 — Richard Stern is Acting Director of the Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies at the Heritage Foundation and Director of its Grover M.Read more

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Less Charitable Giving, More Givers Likely with OBBB Tax Changes Compared to Previous Law, Study Finds

What to Know

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