Director of 'cash giveaway' program tailored to new mothers grilled on how taxpayer funding is used in debate

Michigan House Republicans are demanding a rigorous inspection of a taxpayer-funded cash assistance program for new mothers, aggressively questioning its benefits and sounding the alarm over how millions of dollars are being spent.

The scrutiny boiled over during a June 2 House Oversight Committee hearing, where GOP lawmakers targeted "Rx Kids"— an initiative billed as the nation's largest citywide cash aid program for prenatal and infant care.

"I think there was a belief that there was this small pilot program that was going to be done right," House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. Jay DeBoyer, R-Clay Township, said during the hearing. "When I realized that there was a $250 million allocation to Rx Kids … and you find out that it's really not a prescription drug program for kids, it's a cash giveaway, then you realize that maybe we need to look at this a little harder."

The intense debate over the merits of the program has been escalating for months. House Republicans previously characterized the measure as a "cash for votes scheme." In an interview with local media following last week's hearing, DeBoyer went further, claiming the program is actively "tracking voter data of individuals who receive benefits."

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Michigan House Speaker Matt Hall, R-Richland Township, has also slammed the initiative, previously labeling it "a scam."

Republicans ramped up their oversight during last week's hearing, which featured tense testimony from Rx Kids founder and director Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha. Lawmakers lobbed a barrage of questions at the director, ranging from the viability of eligibility requirements and steep administrative overhead to whether illegal immigrants are accessing the funds.

"No state funds go to undocumented immigrants — none," Hanna-Attisha testified.

DeBoyer argued that the low barrier to entry raises serious red flags for taxpayer accountability. To qualify, applicants must complete a 30-minute application (available in English, Spanish or Arabic), be an adult living in a participating community, and be at least 16 weeks pregnant.

First launched as a pilot program in Flint, Michigan, in 2024, Rx Kids has since expanded to several cities across the state, including Detroit. To date, it has served 5,600 families, doling out more than $22 million in direct support.

The initiative is designed to issue a no-strings-attached $1,500 cash payment to expectant mothers, followed by $500 per month during the child's first year.

The program comes amid a growing national trend of local municipalities providing guaranteed basic income or similar cash assistance to low-income households. While Hanna-Attisha previously told Fox News Digital that the program is modeled after traditional "child allowance programs" rather than universal basic income, DeBoyer warned of a broader ideological agenda.

"This is a test balloon for a much larger program that will first be guaranteed basic income for children up to the ages of 18," DeBoyer warned. "Then if we can convince the general public to buy into this, then we'll expand it to just guaranteed basic income."

The lawmaker took particular issue with the total lack of restrictions on how recipients spend the cash.

"You gotta beg the question, what is it that we're doing, taking $300 million and putting it in a bowl on the porch and telling people they can just stop by and grab a handful?" DeBoyer said. "When we pressed on that issue and asked the question, ‘How do we know they're not buying alcohol and marijuana and other things?’ the answer was, ‘We just trust them.’ That's a noble thing to say, but the problem is we're giving them other people's money."

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Hanna-Attisha, who also serves as a professor at Michigan State University's College of Human Medicine, cited internal Rx Kids research to highlight the program's early success in reducing infant poverty. However, DeBoyer pushed back, questioning the legitimacy of data compiled by the very people running the operation.

"All of the data is provided by Dr. Mona, and most of the research that was done to compile the data was done by Dr. Mona," DeBoyer said. "Well, that's not independent research. That’s the people that are getting the money and doling the money out doing the research."

In a statement to Fox News Digital, the Rx Kids team defended their scientific integrity, noting that their "methods are transparent" and their findings have "withstood scientific scrutiny."

"While I serve as the program's founder and director, the research is conducted by a multidisciplinary team of investigators from multiple institutions and disciplines, including economists, epidemiologists, public health researchers, physicians and policy experts," Hanna-Attisha said, adding that the data has been subjected to rigorous peer-review standards.

DeBoyer also trained his sights on the millions of dollars currently being spent on administrative overhead.

"For darn near $40 million of that money has gone to Michigan State and [nonprofit charity] GiveDirectly in administrative fees," DeBoyer said. "We're going to look into how that money is being spent at Michigan State. We're going to look into how that money is being used at GiveDirectly because $250 million is a lot of Michigan taxpayer money."

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Hanna-Attisha strongly rejected the characterization of those funds as mere "fees," countering that the program operates with high efficiency and takes taxpayer accountability seriously.

"The program also had two previous years of state funding. When you consider the 5–6 years of state funding, the administration of the program is about $7–8M/year," she told Fox News Digital, noting that Rx Kids is a public-private partnership that has raised nearly $90 million from non-state sources.

"Funds are distributed through established systems with extensive safeguards, eligibility verification, fraud prevention protocols, auditing processes, data-use agreements, and independent oversight," she added. "The overwhelming majority of funding supports families directly — approximately 15% of state funds support the administration of the program — that is an incredible level of efficiency."

While Hanna-Attisha previously told Fox News Digital that she ultimately hopes to see the program expand nationwide, Michigan Republicans are making it clear that any future funding will face a steep uphill battle.

DeBoyer's office did not immediately respond to a follow-up request for comment.