By Alan Jaffe
Multiple independent analyses say the recently passed House reconciliation bill — even with its deep spending cuts in some areas — would add trillions of dollars to the federal deficit over 10 years. Those analyses contradict Republican lawmakers who have downplayed the net cost of the bill and White House claims that it wouldn’t increase the deficit at all.
The House passed HR 1, dubbed the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” on May 22 after an all-night session. The vote was 215-214, with two Republicans voting against it. The bill would extend the 2017 tax cuts, make other tax cuts, boost border security funding and cut Medicaid spending, among other provisions. It now goes to the Senate, where it faces some Republican opposition to the bill’s effect on the national debt.
