The House Ways and Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over taxes, on Friday evening released partial text for its portion of President Donald J. Trump’s “big beautiful bill” and scheduled a meeting to debate and advance the legislation for Tuesday at 2 P.M. The proposal had been highly anticipated, but the text released Friday appears to leave out some if not all of the most contentious issues that have divided Republicans and threatened to sink the bill. Not in the bill are provisions on the state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap, which is perhaps the most controversial of the tax laws under consideration. The SALT cap is a popular deduction in many higher-tax blue states, and has emerged as one of the biggest sticking points in negotiations. Also missing are many, if not all, of the individual tax breaks proposed by President Trump while on the campaign trail. These include getting rid of taxes on tips and overtime, canceling taxes on Social Security, adding a tax break for auto loan interest payments, and starting a proposed credit for family caregivers.
House Republicans are now headed into a critical week for passing President Trump’s legislative agenda — even as they remain far apart on a number of key, hot-button issues. The House Ways and Means Committee and the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which oversees Medicaid policy, are both scheduled to begin debating — and eventually voting to advance — their parts of the “big, beautiful bill” Tuesday at 2 P.M, kicking off what is expected to be a pair of marathon hearings. The House Energy and Commerce Committee released its highly anticipated portion of the Trump agenda bill late Sunday night. The legislation would set new restrictions for Medicaid beneficiaries, including work requirements — working for at least 80 hours, whether it be community service or another program — and more frequent eligibility checks. In a significant development, however, the measure does not include a per-beneficiary cap on federal Medicaid spending nor a reduction in the federal match to states, which were key red lines for moderate Republicans who are weary of hurting constituents who rely on the social safety net program.
Both hearings come as the Treasury Department said Friday it would likely run out of cash to pay the nation’s bills by August, setting a new, firmer deadline for Congress to act to avoid a catastrophic default on the United States’ more-than $36 trillion debt. That date could also become the new, de facto deadline for congressional Republicans to pass the big beautiful bill assuming leadership sticks with its plan to approve a $5 trillion debt limit hike as part of that package. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent wrote in a letter to congressional leaders that “there is a reasonable probability” the government’s cash “will be exhausted in August while Congress is scheduled to be in recess,” urging Congress to increase or suspend the debt limit by mid-July “to protect the full faith and credit of the United States.”
For today, the Senate will reconvene at 3:00 P.M. and is expected to take up a Motion to invoke cloture on Executive Calendar #76 Monica Crowley, to be Chief of Protocol, and to have the rank of Ambassador during her tenure of service.
The House is not in session and will reconvene for legislative business at 2:00 P.M. tomorrow.
