Government & Policy

The Social Security Administration (SSA) administers Social Security disability benefits through a disability adjudication process that determines eligibility and can be the subject of administrative improvements to increase efficiency.

Social Security is widely regarded as politically sensitive in U.S. politics and is commonly referred to as the "third rail" of U.S. politics.

Disability advocacy organizations engage with federal officials to seek assurances or influence policy decisions concerning Social Security disability programs.

Traditional bail is money posted by a defendant as a refundable deposit intended to secure the defendant's release before trial by providing financial assurance that the defendant will return to court.

Cashless bail reforms replace monetary bail with risk-based or individualized assessments in which judges determine pretrial detention or release based on factors such as public-safety risk and flight risk rather than on a defendant's ability to pay.

Under the U.S. federal system, the federal government cannot unilaterally override state criminal procedure, including state decisions about pretrial release and bail.

U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service data covering the first quarter of fiscal year 2025 (Oct 1–Dec 31, 2024) showed more than 226,000 fraudulent SNAP benefit claims, more than 691,000 unauthorized SNAP transactions, and reported stolen benefit claim counts of over 26,000 for Alabama, 25,818 for California, and 25,210 for New York.

Stolen SNAP benefits cost the U.S. government more than $102 million in the first quarter of fiscal year 2025 (Oct 1–Dec 31, 2024); the cost was $69.4 million in the immediately preceding quarter (Jul 1–Sep 30, 2024) and $31.9 million in the first quarter of fiscal year 2024 (Oct 1–Dec 31, 2023).

Federal spending on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) was $127 billion in 2022.

U.S. federal spending on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) totaled $128 billion in 2021.

FEMA's Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program provides grants for hazard mitigation to help protect communities from threats such as floods, wildfires, tornadoes, and hurricanes.

The USS Gerald R. Ford is a United States Navy aircraft carrier that is widely described as among the most advanced modern aircraft carriers.

The F-35 is a U.S. stealth multirole fighter aircraft (commonly described as a stealth fighter jet).

The federal Title I program provides federal funding, totaling billions of dollars, to support elementary and secondary schools with large numbers of low-income students.

The U.S. Department of Education administers special education grant programs and maintains an Office for Civil Rights responsible for enforcing civil rights in education.

Federal education-related grant programs can be administered by a variety of federal agencies outside the Department of Education, such as the Departments of Labor, the Interior, State, and Health and Human Services, depending on program purpose and statutory authority.