The House of Representatives is in the final stages of pushing for President Donald Trump’s sweeping ‘big, beautiful bill’ before it reaches the President’s desk. The House Rules Committee is set to vote on advancing the legislation for a House-wide vote, following the Senate’s narrow passage of the bill. The legislation includes provisions to extend the tax cuts from the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, roll back green energy tax credits implemented under President Biden’s Inflation, increase defense spending, and raise the debt limit by $5 trillion to avoid a potential credit default.
The Senate passed the bill after a lengthy marathon session, with Vice President JD Vance casting the tie-breaking vote. The House faces its own procedural hurdles, as conservative members like Reps. Ralph Norman and Chip Roy have raised concerns about the bill’s content. With a self-imposed deadline of July 4th, the House must approve modifications made by the Senate before the legislation can reach the President. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise has indicated that the House could begin considering the bill as early as Wednesday, but conservative members of the House Freedom Caucus have warned that the bill may not survive a House-wide vote unless the Senate’s text undergoes significant changes.
The bill’s provisions include permanent extension of the income tax brackets lowered by Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, while temporarily adding new tax deductions to eliminate duties on tipped and overtime wages up to certain caps. It also introduces a new tax deduction for people aged 65 and over. Furthermore, the legislation rolls back green energy tax credits implemented under former President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, which Trump and his allies have denounced as ‘the Green New Scam.’
The bill would surge money toward the national defense and to Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the name of Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigrants in the U.S. Additionally, it would raise the debt limit by $5 trillion in order to avoid a potentially economically devastating credit default sometime this summer, if the U.S. runs out of cash to pay its obligations.
Despite the bill’s broad scope and potential impact, the House is expected to proceed with its legislative push, as Republicans have set a deadline of July 4th for the bill to be signed into law. The House Rules Committee’s final vote will determine whether the bill advances to a House-wide vote, where just four GOP ‘no’ votes could sink the legislation. The outcome of this legislative sprint will have significant implications for the U.S. economy, tax policy, and immigration enforcement.