Accountability in Federal Funding and Highlights from the West Coast: Jonathan Williams on the Hugh Hewitt Show

Hugh Hewitt spoke with ALEC President and Chief Economist Jonathan Williams about the political landscape in Michigan, the recent regulatory comments ALEC submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on proposed internal control requirements for federal assistance receipts, and policy highlights emerging on the West Coast.

Hewitt began the conversation by covering the election results for the Senate seat in Michigan. Williams emphasized the opportunity for conservative candidates to define their agendas around commonsense solutions to the issues facing Michigan.

“I think that it does provide some amazing opportunities for our conservative friends there to have a contrast of the records, a contrast of the agenda and the issues going forward for the state of Michigan, and as we see this play out in perhaps other states too,” Williams noted.

Turning to the inner workings of policy, Hewitt asked about the recent regulatory comments ALEC submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on proposed internal control requirements for federal assistance receipts. Williams dove into the issue by explaining the significance of federal funding for states, noting that an average of 40% of state budgets come from federal sources.

“We want to rethink the way that the federal government supports the states,” Williams emphasized, “because it’s becoming an unhealthy reliance and addiction that sometimes state and local governments have on these federal funds. There’s no such thing as a free lunch. They come with a whole lot of requirements.”

Continuing on this topic, the two discussed the rulemaking process, in which agencies propose rules, receive comments, and finalize them after considering feedback. Williams anticipated ongoing discussions in Washington, with some groups opposing the requirement but acknowledging its importance as a safeguard for American taxpayers.

“This is a clear example of something that is a commonsense safeguard for American taxpayers if we’re going to spend money and send it to the states,” Williams noted.

Hewitt later asked about the ALEC model policy, The Federal Funds Oversight Act, and how it can be applied in this situation. Williams described the policy, which goes beyond E-Verify to ensure state self-sufficiency and readiness for potential reductions in federal aid.

“It gets to the issue of you know if and when the federal government does reduce aid to the states, let’s make sure states are self-sufficient,” he emphasized.

He also noted that Utah’s forward-thinking approach serves as an example of states taking the lead in fiscal responsibility.

“That model policy of ours really is a takeaway off of what Utah and other forward-thinking states have done now for a number of years.”

Hewitt followed up by asking about recent policy activities ALEC saw on the West Coast during its visits to California, Washington, Oregon, and Hawaii. Williams reported a strong interest in ALEC principles and ideas among attendees, despite the states’ lower rankings in various reports.

“We found a lot of hunger for those that came out and wanted to hear about good ALEC principles and ideas and what they might do to help turn around their states eventually,” he emphasized.