HAPPY HALLOWEEN! It’s that time of year again. Washington ghouls and bureaucratic boggarts are scheming to spook taxpayers and consumers with bad policies, while a few rare treats shine through the fog. From unsightly shutdowns to witch hunts against consumer choice, lawmakers and regulators are busy turning government into a haunted house with plenty of trapdoors for taxpayers and no way to escape. And there’s nothing quite as scary as the monstrous and ever-growing $37 trillion in debt. As always, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance is here to shine a flashlight under the bed and separate the tricks from the treats. So, grab your pumpkin bucket and let’s see what Washington has cooked up this Halloween season. Be sure to see the full list of Taxpayer Tricks and Treats on our website ([link removed]) .

Tricks

Waiting Room Wraith: RFK Jr.'s Healthcare Haunting

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy (RFK) Jr. is determined to give patients a scare with bans on new innovations and restrictions on medical freedom. One especially ghoulish policy has been the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a subagency of the HHS, approving the latest iteration of COVID-19 vaccines, but with new restrictions. Approval is now limited to seniors and younger Americans with at least one underlying health condition that increases their risk of severe COVID-19 infection. As a result, millions of Americans are forced to endure the perpetual fright of going to the doctor for a prescription (if they can even conjure up a doctor’s appointment). Americans deserve healthcare variety and easy access to products, not a one-size-fits-all scare.

Congress Casts Spooky Shutdown Specter

Lawmakers in Washington have once again played “trick or treat” with taxpayer money, letting the spooky specter of a continued shutdown loom over federal agencies. Instead of passing appropriations bills and engaging in responsible budgeting, Congress summons a parade of poltergeists — including bolstered COVID-era spending that would further bloat the $37 trillion debt — all while taxpayers foot the haunted house admission fee. The scariest part is that politicians always seem to get paid, even when the government shutters its own doors. It’s long past time for the government to reopen, and for lawmakers to summon their better spirits and engage in a long-term responsible appropriations process that prioritizes debt reduction over red ink.

Monster Mash: State-Level Laws Against AI

States are dancing to their own creepy and disjointed tune by rushing out AI restrictions that read like a goosebump-raising Halloween tale. These patchwork regulations threaten to chill expression, suffocate innovation, frighten small startups, and risk turning promising technologies into regulatory Frankensteins. For example, California and Alabama’s onerous rules against political deepfake content could silence individuals, advocacy organizations, and media publications from creating satirical cartoons and videos that convey important truths about the inadequacies (or strengths) of leading political figures. Despite advocating for these regulations, California Governor Gavin Newsom has relied on satirical images of President Trump as a way of dissenting from administration policies and bolstering his national profile. Taxpayers and consumers alike get tricked when government goblins throw shackles on AI-powered applications that could lower costs and improve services.

The 340B Drug Pricing Program is Frightfully Abused

This Halloween, the scary reality of rising drug prices haunts many Americans. Beware of the monstrous loopholes lurking within the 340B program, a spooky creation born in 1992 to fix the haunted aftermath of Congress’s earlier price controls on Medicaid. Pharmaceutical companies are compelled to participate, offering discounts to “covered entities” — hospitals and clinics that are supposed to serve low-income and uninsured individuals. Boo! The Congressional Budget Office’s September 9th report reveals that instead of serving the intended patient base, the 340B program has terrorized taxpayers with an estimated $6.5 billion annually in lost Medicaid rebates, casting a ghoulish shadow over the true cost of this healthcare trick. In addition, an IQVIA study found that the 340B program has haunted the healthcare landscape with mutant growth, soaring from $9 billion in 2014 to a broomstick-defying $38 billion in 2020, a 322 percent increase. The number of covered entities has grown from 3,600
in 2010 to over 5,000 in 2020, with site locations increasing by 700 percent, turning the program into a behemoth lurking behind a well-intentioned government program.

Treats

The Antidote to the EU's Witches' Brew of Regulations

The European Union keeps stirring its cauldron of red tape and ever-fluid rules, most recently through the Digital Markets Act and other half-brewed legislation. It’s hard to blame innovators from staying away from this craven coven. As a recent analysis by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation notes, “all seven of the world’s trillion-dollar tech firms are American, but Europe can claim only 28 businesses with valuations over $100 billion. … European firms raised $426 billion over the past decade, roughly $800 billion less than U.S. firms during the same period.”
Thankfully, President Trump and Vice President Vance have publicly criticized the EU’s runaway regulations and America has (so far) resisted importing this witches’ brew of anti-innovation regulation. By not following Brussels’ lead, U.S. taxpayers and consumers get a sweet reprieve from regressive and backward policies. Regulators should beware: too much eye of newt and toe of frog can spoil the whole potion and poison progress.

Congress Lets Americans Keep Their Candy Bars

In a rare moment of sweetness, Congress opted to extend President Trump’s tax cuts that left more money in the vast majority of Americans’ pockets. Not all of the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) belongs in the treats stash; missed opportunities for spending reform and the imposition of harmful taxes such as the remittance tax left a bad taste in taxpayers’ mouths. However, lawmakers deserve praise for heading off a massive tax hike that would’ve haunted wallets and pocketbooks for years to come. The bill also laudably reinstated 100 percent first-year bonus depreciation, raised estate and gift tax exemption amounts, made permanent increased alternative minimum tax exemption amounts, and increased the standard deduction. This treat would be even sweeter if policymakers made real progress on reducing the debt and deficit and axed any new OBBB taxes.

BLOGS:

Monday: Consumer Watchdog Slams Mamdani’s Grocery Store Madness in New Report ([link removed])

Tuesday: TPA Applauds New Report Exposing Unions ([link removed])

Wednesday: What You Should Be Reading: October 2025 ([link removed]) and Don’t Let Washington Bureaucrats Undermine Innovation ([link removed])

Thursday: Profile in Courage: MEP Johan Nissinen ([link removed])

Friday: TPA Tricks and Treats 2025 - Taxpayers Protection Alliance ([link removed])


Media:

October 23, 2025: WBFF Fox45 (Baltimore, Md.) quoted TPA in their story, “As prices rise nationwide, experts also point to increased fees in Maryland.”
October 23, 2025: WBFF Fox45 (Baltimore, Md.) interviewed me for their story on rising prices and excessive taxation in Maryland.
October 23, 2025: WBFF Fox45 (Baltimore, Md.) interviewed me for their story on fraud and pension issues involving a Baltimore city school police officer.
October 23, 2025: Inside Sources (Washington, D.C.) and 14 other outlets ran TPA’s exclusive, “Exclusive Poll: Americans Lack Trust in RFK Jr. as Health Chief.”
October 23, 2025: WJLA Radio (Washington, D.C.) interviewed me for their news segment on tariff price increases.
October 24, 2025: The Las Vegas Review Journal ran TPA’s op-ed, “Tariff revenues are rising, but so are costs for families”
October 24, 2025: The Baltimore Sun (Baltimore, Md.) quoted TPA in their story, “After stealing $215K in taxpayer funds, Baltimore school police officer retains pension.”
October 24, 2025: Cato at Liberty and 2 other outlets ran TPA’s op-ed, “Hawley and Blumenthal's AI Bill Is a Brazen Executive Power Grab That Puts National Security at Risk.”
October 24, 2025: MSN mentioned TPA in their story, “Moore blames price rise on Trump, taxpayer advocate says 'everyone to blame.'”
October 25, 2025: WFBR (Baltimore, Md.) quoted TPA in their news segment on non-profit subsidization.
October 26, 2025: Yahoo News and 14 other outlets mentioned TPA in their story, “CAPHRA announces “Asia Day” event to take place at The Good Cop 2.0 Conference Highlighting Harm Reduction in Asia Pacific.”
October 27, 2025: WBFF Fox45 (Baltimore, Md.) quoted TPA in their story, “Waste Watch: Maryland Cutting 500 Jobs.”
October 27, 2025: Inside Sources (Washington, D.C.) and 6 other outlets ran TPA’s exclusive, “Study Finds Poor Record for City-Owned Grocery Stores as Mamdani Pushes NYC Plan.”
October 27, 2025: American Family News mentioned TPA in their story, “Taxpayer says Congress must have hard talks about touchy topics.”
October 27, 2025: The Baltimore Sun ran TPA's op-ed, "New poll confirms public distrust in RFK Jr.’s leadership."
October 27, 2025: WBFF Fox45 (Baltimore, Md.) quoted TPA in their story, “After felony conviction, Baltimore Officer keeps pension, reviving calls for law change.”
October 27, 2025: WBFF Fox45 (Baltimore, Md.) interviewed me for their news segment on Maryland cutting job and work force costs.
October 29, 2025: Washington Examiner (Washington, D.C.) quoted TPA in their story, “'Open banking' rule empowers regulators who undermined religious freedom.”
October 29, 2025: Benton Foundation mentioned TPA in their story, “A New Chapter in the Consumer Broadband Label Debate.”
October 29, 2025: WFTL Radio (West Palm Beach, Fl.) mentioned TPA’s Grocery Report in their news segment on government-run grocery stores.
October 29, 2025: Inside Sources (Washington, D.C.) ran TPA’s op-ed, “From Tobacco to COVID, WHO’s War on Dissent Continues.”
October 29, 2025: American Family News interviewed and mentioned TPA’s David McGarry in their story, “Research critic thinks Mamdani's plan for city-owned grocery stores is insanity”
October 30, 2025: I appeared on WBOB600 AM (Jacksonville, Fla.) to talk about tariffs and tax cuts.
October 30, 2025: I appeared on WBFF Fox45 (Baltimore, Md.) to talk about TPA’s tricks and treats.
October 30, 2025: David McGarry appeared on the Schilling Show (Charlottesville, Va.) to discuss TPA's new report on government-owned grocery stores.
October 30, 2025: The Blaze ran TPA's op-ed, "The myth of the online gambling ‘epidemic’."
Have a great weekend!

David Williams
President
Taxpayers Protection Alliance
1101 14^th Street, NW
Suite 500
Washington, D.C.
Office: (202) 930-1716
Mobile: (202) 258-6527
www.protectingtaxpayers.org

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