The Abstract

> Edited by Torie Ludwin, Arnold Ventures (AV)

Arnold Ventures President and CEO Kelli Rhee issued the following statement after the House of Representatives passed The One Big Beautiful Bill: 

“Even before the 2024 election, Arnold Ventures was clear in its position that the pending expiration of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) presents both a challenge and an opportunity. While the House bill makes some progress, it does not go nearly far enough to adopt pro-growth policies that also address the national debt.  

Read the full statement>

In the latest episode of Resources Radio, Dr. Jenny Schuetz, AV’s vice president of Infrastructure, Housing joined host Margaret Walls to explore how housing policy can be a powerful tool for reducing climate risks. From wildfires to floods, climate change is reshaping where and how we live — and local governments are facing tough choices.

Listen to the episode>

What We’re Reading

Public Finance

• Adam Michel of the Cato Institute highlights that the “One Big Beautiful Bill” extends many of the 2017 tax cuts, but ultimately falls short of meaningful pro-growth tax reform.

  
  

• Keith Hall of the Mercatus Center reports that a 350% increase in SNAP program integrity spending since 2012 has not prevented overpayments from surging to $10 billion annually, with fraud and benefit trafficking remaining persistent issues.

  
  

• The New York Times notes that Moody’s downgrade of the U.S. credit rating to Aa1 underscores the urgent need for lawmakers to address America’s growing national debt. (free link)

Health Care

• A new research brief from the Actuarial Research Corporation finds Congress could lower premiums and cost sharing for seniors by $80 billion over 10 years if Medicare paid the same price for the same health care service regardless of where it is performed.
  

Higher Education

• In an op-ed for The Hill, William Hubbard from Veterans Education Success sheds light on ongoing abuses by predatory schools that target veterans. He argues that lax oversight allows institutions to defraud both veterans and taxpayers and calls on the Department of Education and Congress to strengthen accountability measures to protect students and safeguard federal funds.
   

• The Postsecondary Education and Economics Research (PEER) Center at American University published a detailed commentary on the House of Representatives' higher education reconciliation bill. The analysis compares new repayment plan structures and dives into how changes to loan repayment aim to reduce borrowers’ balances, how the bill addresses the Pell Grant funding shortfall, and more.

Criminal Justice

• Without additional resources and staffing, state laws mandating set turnaround times for testing sexual assault kits can cause additional problems, AV’s Vice President of Criminal Justice Jennifer Doleac explains in a new story from KUNC about crime labs and DNA testing.

  
  

• As reported in the Texas Tribune, the Texas House of Representatives has passed legislation addressing overheating in state prisons, which affects staff and incarcerated people alike. If passed by the Senate and signed by the Governor, HB 3006 would require prisons in the state to install air conditioning in certain facilities by 2032.

Some Final Inspiration

A 40,000 book library in a district of Ankara, Turkey was founded by the town’s garbage collectors and made of books rescued from the trash. Librarians from across the country as well as readers in town access the collection, which includes a mobile unit as well as musical instruments. The CBC profiled the library after its opening. Watch here>

We’re Seeking Proposals

• The Evidence and Evaluation team has launched a second round of requests for proposals (RFPs) following a set of successful responses from earlier this year. Letters of interest are due Friday, June 13, 2025.

  
  

• The Criminal Justice team has released an RFP titled “Causal Research on Community Safety and the Criminal Justice System.” The RFP seeks research proposals across all issues related to the criminal justice system and will remain open.

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