The House of Representatives passed the “one big, beautiful bill” Thursday morning, but not before the House Rules committee introduced and approved manager’s amendments the previous night.
Lawmakers made several key revisions to the bill, which allowed it to ultimately cross the finish line by a single vote. With the added amendments, the bill was able to garner the support of nearly all House Republicans, including both conservative members of the House Freedom Caucus (HFC) and blue state moderates.
Under the legislation which passed, Medicaid work requirements will go into effect on Dec. 31, 2026 rather than Jan. 1, 2029, as had been previously proposed. States are also allowed to implement work requirements sooner, and future administrations’ discretion to waive work requirements for various populations has been revoked.
The work requirements were made to appease HFC members, such as Texas Rep. Chip Roy and South Carolina Rep. Ralph Norman, who were advocating to eliminate waste fraud and abuse within Medicaid. Roy and Norman had voted against advancing the bill in the House Budget Committee on May 16, but both ultimately ended up voting for its passage on Thursday.
The bill also disincentivizes Medicaid expansion in states and bans Medicaid dollars from being used for sex change procedures and therapies for both minors and adults. Also in the bill, cost-sharing reduction (CSRs) payments are appropriated for private health insurance plans in the individual market.
Money Account for Growth and Advancement (MAGA) accounts — the no-strings-attached $1,000 deposit every newborn American baby would receive over the next few years — were renamed to “Trump Accounts” in the amendments.
The state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap was raised from $30,000 to $40,000 for households making up to $500,000 instead of the previous $400,000 limit. The cap will phase out for households making more than $500,000.
SALT allows taxpayers to itemize state, local and property taxes in their filing. Some blue state Republicans such as New York Reps. Mike Lawler and Nick LaLota have been pushing for higher SALT caps as data shows states with larger shares of wealthier taxpayers and homeowners, such as California, New York, New Jersey and Florida, use the deduction the most.
Many red state Republicans oppose SALT deductions, claiming they only benefit the wealthiest Americans and fund high-tax state jurisdictions, presenting the possibility of SALT caps serving as pork barrel spending for certain states.
In 2028, existing Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act tax credits will be phased out for low-carbon electricity such as wind, solar and battery storage, according to the amendments. Companies can claim tax credits if they start a new project and invest a minimum of 5% of the total cost within the first 60 days. Nuclear energy tax credits are protected as long as project construction begins by the end of 2028.
A provision allowing the sale of over 500,000 acres of public land in Utah and Nevada was revoked in the managing amendments. Montana Rep. Ryan Zinke, who served as Secretary of the Interior during President Donald Trump’s first term, strongly opposed the sale of public lands. A proposed change to keep federal workers’ pension formula at the current law’s high-3 earnings was also revoked.
Twelve billion dollars in funding was added to the bill for border security expenses, including reimbursing states for money spent on border security after Joe Biden took office in 2021. Border states such as Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas would likely see the most benefit from reimbursements over border security.
In the “big, beautiful” bill, gun suppressors are now deregulated and removed from the national registry and the gun manufacturer tax is eliminated.
A provision on a tanning bed tax has been revoked in the version of the bill that passed the House.
In addition, the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act was included with language changes to keep privilege in the Senate. The act’s proponents have maintained it would save billions of dollars by limiting the rule-making authority of federal agencies, the Daily Caller News Foundation previously reported.
Following the successful vote, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson said in a statement that the media and Democrats were “proven wrong” in not believing the House would enact Trump’s America First agenda.
“Today, the House has passed generational, nation-shaping legislation that reduces spending, permanently lowers taxes for families and job creators, secures the border, unleashes American energy dominance, restores peace through strength, and makes government work more efficiently and effectively for all Americans,” Johnson said. “We look forward to the Senate’s timely consideration of this once-in-a-generation legislation and stand ready to continue our work together to deliver The One Big Beautiful Bill to the President’s desk.”
Now the One Big Beautiful Bill Act moves to the Senate where certain policies could face resistance. After the House vote Thursday morning, Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters that House and Senate differences on SALT, the question of permanence for the 2017 tax cuts, and policies that have “shorter term windows” could all pose policy challenges.
Trump praised the House’s success on social media, calling the bill “arguably the most significant piece of legislation that will ever be signed in the history of our country.”
“Now, it’s time for our friends in the United States Senate to get to work, and send this Bill to my desk AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!” Trump wrote. “There is no time to waste.”
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