Following Senate and House approval of the “One Big Beautiful Bill” the President signed the measure in a White House ceremony on July 4th. The legislation implements the President’s domestic policy priorities by extending and enhancing the 2017 tax cuts, increases initiatives to enhance border security, increases investments in defense programs and targets reductions in other Federal programs.
Senators have been meeting all week in an attempt to find common ground on a reconciliation package that will implement much of President Trump’s domestic policy agenda. It is still very unclear what the Senate’s reconciliation bill will look like. Punch news reports that Senate Republicans are looking to rewrite two of the hardest-fought provisions in the House’s bill. Senate Finance Committee Chair Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) told GOP senators Wednesday that he plans to scale back the House’s deal raising the cap on the amount of state and local taxes (SALT) that can be deducted and to rework the House repeal of clean energy tax credits from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Once completed, the Senate bill must go back to the House for its adoption. Having passed its version of the legislation on a 215-214 vote, House Speaker Mike Johnson has little wiggle room in his quest to get the reconciliation bill done by July 4.
The House reconciliation bill, now officially called “One Big Beautiful Bill,” passed by a vote of 215-214 prior to the Memorial Day recess. It is intended to implement President Trump’s domestic agenda by extending expiring tax cuts; removing taxes on tips and overtime pay; increasing funding for border security, including continued construction of a border wall, and enhanced military funding, including a golden dome satellite defense system. In addition, the bill cuts spending on Medicaid, food aid, higher education and clean energy investments to pay for these new initiatives and to reduce overall federal expenditures. According to Congressional Budget Office estimates, however, the bill is expected to increase budget deficits by $3.3 trillion by 2034, compared with doing nothing, though a final official estimate is not yet available. Also included in the bill is a $4 billion increase in the debt ceiling over the next two years.
The House returned from a two week Easter recess and began work on a reconciliation package that will address the President’s priorities to continue and enhance the 2017 tax cuts, increase spending on defense and border enforcement while significantly cutting overall federal spending. Various committee of jurisdiction have been issued targets to fulfill their part of the reconciliation puzzle to accomplish these goals. According to Punch News, Congress is scrambling to come up with a package that meets Trump’s goal of cutting taxes for Americans making less than $200,000, plus four years of no taxes on tips, overtime and Social Security payments.