One Big Beautiful Bill Act (HR 1) – Introduced by Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-TX) on May 20, this tax bill supports the president’s tax and immigration agenda. The legislation includes:
- Making permanent the income and estate tax cuts passed in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017
- Waiving income taxes on cash tips, overtime pay and interest on some auto loans (ends 2028). The tip waiver would be a tax deduction of up to $25,000/year on cash-only tips for workers making less than $160,000/year; FICA taxes would still apply to tips.
- Temporarily increasing the standard deduction (ends 2028)
- Reducing the amount of income subject to income taxes
- Temporarily increasing the child tax credit to $2,500 (ends 2028)
- Increase the estate tax exemption to $15 million and adjust for inflation going forward
- Increase the SALT cap to $40,000 for incomes up to $500,000, phasing downward for higher incomes, but increasing the cap and income threshold by 1 percent a year over 10 years
To offset the tax cuts, the bill proposes the following spending cuts:
- Repeal or phase out clean energy tax credits
- Reduce Supplemental Nutrition and Assistance Program (SNAP) funding by $267 billion over 10 years (and shift a higher percentage of program benefits and administration costs to states)
- For able-bodied, food-aid beneficiaries without dependents, work requirements would increase from age 54 to 64
- Increased work requirements for aid to parents based on the child’s age, from 18 down to 7
- Reduce funding for Medicaid by $700 million
- Require able-bodied Medicaid beneficiaries without dependents to engage in work, education, or service for at least 80 hours a month beginning in 2026
- Revamp the student loan program to yield $330 billion in savings
- Repeal the regulation that allowed students to cancel loans if their college defrauded them or closed suddenly
- Increase leasing of public lands for drilling, mining, and logging
Additional components of the bill include:
- Imposing stricter eligibility and income verifications for ACA exchange customers
- Shortening the ACA enrollment period by one month
- Prohibiting Medicaid funds from going to Planned Parenthood
- Canceling a current regulation for minimum staffing in nursing homes
- $46.5 billion to construct a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border
- $6.1 billion to fund Border Patrol agents, customs officers, and investigators
- Impose a $1,000 fee on migrants seeking asylum
- Remove 1 million immigrants a year and house 100,000 people in detention centers
- Eliminate the $200 tax on gun silencers
- $150 billion in new funding for the Defense Department and national security, such as building a missile defense shield (Golden Dome), restocking the nation’s ammunition arsenal and expanding the Navy’s fleet of ships
- New parents will receive $1,000 from the federal government via a “Trump” account for each baby born during Trump’s second term. Parents may contribute an additional $5,000 a year to the account, earnings would grow tax-deferred in a broad stock index, with qualified withdrawals (higher education, starting a business or purchasing a home after age 18; any purpose after age 30) taxed at the long-term capital-gains rate; nonqualified withdrawals taxed as ordinary income.
The House bill was passed on May 22 and now undergoes scrutiny in the Senate, where there will likely be considerable changes.
Securing Semiconductor Supply Chains Act (S 97) – This bill would enable state-level economic development organizations to increase foreign direct investment in semiconductor-related manufacturing and production. It was introduced by Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) on Jan. 15 and passed in the Senate on May 20. The legislation is currently under review in the House.
VA Budget Shortfall Accountability Act (HR 1823) – Introduced on March 4 by Rep. Jack Bergman (R-MI), this act would instruct the secretary of the VA and the U.S. comptroller general to report on Veterans Benefits Administration funding shortfalls for fiscal year 2024 and expected funding shortfalls of the Veterans Health Administration in fiscal year 2025. The bill passed in the House on May 19 and is under consideration in the Senate.
Improving Law Enforcement Officer Safety and Wellness Through Data Act (HR 2240) – This bill would require the attorney general to provide regular reports on violent attacks perpetrated against law enforcement officers, as well as for other purposes. Introduced by Rep. Tim Moore (R-NC) on March 21, the bill passed in the House on May 15, and its fate currently lies in the Senate.
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