The Abstract

> Edited by Torie Ludwin, Arnold Ventures (AV)

Amid the budget markups this week as Congress works to refine its hoped-for One Big Beautiful Bill, a few voices have gained attention. AV’s Executive Vice President of Public Finance George Callas urges Congress in his statement this week to “do both:” preserve the benefits of a pro-growth tax plan reform without adding to the national debt. Tax and Fiscal Policy Fellow Scott Hodge also warns of the perils of adding to the national debt in the Washington Examiner, pointing out that a debt-financed tax bill also risks fueling inflation. Additionally, Executive Vice President of Health Care Mark E. Miller advocates for health reforms without harmful cuts like reducing essential benefits, especially for vulnerable populations. Vice President of Higher Education Kelly McManus previously wrote to the Education and Workforce Committee advocating that its portion of the bill strengthen higher education accountability, improve loan repayment structures, and ensure better outcomes for students and taxpayers. To help pay for the bill, Callas brings up 4 revenue-raisers in RealClear Markets, highlighting tax loopholes that if closed, could bring in $500 billion.

Read more about our views:

George Callas’ statement regarding the Ways and Means reconciliation proposal>

Scott Hodge’s op-ed in the Washington Examiner on adding to the national debt>

Mark E. Miller’s statement on the reconciliation process this week>

Kelly McManus’ letter to the Education and Workforce Committee>

George Callas’ proposal to close tax loopholes rather than raise taxes>

Last week, the House Subcommittee on Responsiveness and Accountability To Oversight and the House Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance hosted a joint hearing on the nation’s correctional crisis. With both federal and state prisons experiencing severe understaffing, overcrowding, and deteriorating facilities, Congresspeople heard testimony and recommendations from several system stakeholders, including representatives of the Safer Prisons, Safer Communities campaign.

Read about the hearing from the Safer Prisons, Safer Communities campaign>

Watch the hearing>

What We’re Reading

Health Care

• Alex Azar, former secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, and E. Anders Kolb, president and CEO of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, advocate for site-neutral payment reform in the Washington Times.

  
  

• RealClear Health explains the need for site-neutral payment reform in “Big Hospitals, Big Money, and the Ripping Off of the American Taxpayer.”

  
  

• In the Daily Caller, Mike Burgess talks about how to reform Medicare without cutting benefits.

Higher Education

• American Enterprise Institute’s Beth Akers and Preston Cooper provide helpful commentary on the House of Representative’s higher education reconciliation bill. Akers underscores provisions like the elimination of Grad PLUS loans and increased institutional accountability, and Cooper highlights the bill’s focus on loan limits, a new income-driven repayment plan, and stronger accountability.

  
  

• MDRC released results of an 8-year follow-up study on Ohio’s ASAP program, which found that ASAP continues to deliver significant long-term impacts: 46% of students in the program group earned a degree compared to 31% in the control group — an increase of 15% points.

Criminal Justice

• In an op-ed for the Minnesota Reformer, Eric Harris Bernstein discusses how understaffing and poor conditions are making the state’s prisons unsafe for staff and incarcerated people. He suggests that the solution lies in both adequate resourcing and alternative models of incarceration, like Pennsylvania’s “Little Scandinavia” project.
  

• In North Dakota, Governor Kelly Armstrong has signed two bills into law that strengthen the state’s public defense system. As 6AC explains, SB 2226 ensures that all in-custody defendants have access to an attorney at their first court appearance. HB 1417 eliminates the fee indigent people were required to pay to apply for a public defender as well as the requirement that they pay back the cost of legal services they receive.

What We’re Watching

The affordable housing documentary “Fault Lines” is now available to stream on AppleTV+. Tune in here>

Save the Date

Join Arnold Ventures’ Evidence and Evaluation team on Thursday, May 22, at noon ET for an interactive, 1-hour webinar introducing our latest grant funding opportunity. This session will highlight the Building Evidence Request for Proposals (RFP), which supports quasi-experimental studies across five AV policy areas: Higher Education, Career Education and Training, Contraceptive Choice and Access, Infrastructure, and Public Finance. This webinar will focus on three specific fields: Infrastructure, Career Education and Training, and Public Finance.

During the webinar, policy leads will provide an overview of each area, outline key research priorities, and describe what we’re looking for in competitive proposals. The session is designed to help prospective applicants understand the goals of the RFP and how to craft strong submissions.

The webinar will include a live Q&A, offering attendees the chance to ask questions and engage directly with our team. Register here>

Some Final Inspiration

The Nashville Zoo is home to a new baby southern pudu, the world’s smallest deer species.

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. Register for this webinar on Thursday, May 22, at noon ET to get an overview of what we are looking for and to ask any questions.

  
  

• 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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