U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, introduced the Stopping Transfers of Public Funds Abroad Act several weeks ago to protect American taxpayers by penalizing welfare recipients who send remittances to foreign countries.
The bill requires that individuals who want to send international wire transfers certify that they do not receive public assistance. If they fail to disclose this information, the bill would fine that person $100,000. However, today the Senator attempted to push the bill forward through unanimous consent, Democrats, of course, would not allow it, resulting in a fiery speech from Senator Moreno after Senator Wyden stepped in to stop it.
🚨BOOM—@berniemoreno just BURNED Democrats for choosing ILLEGALS over AMERICANS.
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) February 25, 2026
"When you've been here for 30 years in Washington, DC, you think it's perfectly NORMAL for government to provide AID to those in need & then have those poeple send that money OVERSEAS...… pic.twitter.com/i1o3YXII7g
The common-sense bill aims to stop people from taking taxpayer welfare and then sending it overseas.
One estimate from the Federation for American Immigration Reform says that people send at least $200 billion annually from our economy in remittances to at least 134 other countries.
When people send remittances to other countries, that money isn’t spent in the U.S. economy. As of 2021, the top five countries that receive remittances from the U.S. were: Mexico ($52.6 billion), India ($15.8 billion), Guatemala ($14.7 billion), the Philippines ($12.8 billion), and China ($12.7 billion).
When that money leaves the U.S., it’s unclear where it goes or who it funds. Some money could fund cartels or other criminal organizations.
U.S. remittances account for around 20 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of multiple countries in Central America, including Honduras and El Salvador, according to the FAIR report.
“For decades, Washington’s failed welfare program rewarded dependency while enabling fraudsters and criminals to exploit the system to take advantage of American taxpayers,” Moreno said in a news release. “If an individual has enough cash to send money overseas, they have no business taking welfare benefits from hardworking Americans. The abuse ends now.”