It’s here. Reconciliation 2.0, which under most circumstances would be a shoo-in piece of legislation, but Trump is president, and the Democrats are nuts. Republicans have a margin in the House so razor-thin it’s practically translucent at this point. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and his likely opposition are bound to complicate matters, along with the recent passing of Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-CA). Regardless, the show must go on.
Chloe was at yesterday's press conference and offered a roadmap. Home ownership is part of the legislation, but it’s another massive undertaking. There are many things that Democrats are going to hate in this bill just for the sake of it, despite its trying to ameliorate the health care subsidy issue, but the repeal of the death tax is in this bill. That could be the escape hatch Democrats need, because they’ve always supported this silly tax: we can take our life savings and blow it in Las Vegas, but if we try pass it to our loved ones after we die, the government takes a bite out of it.
Yet, the primary engine for the economy could get a boost, and that centers on the energy provisions (via Politico):
“There’s three major things that I think are threatening the American dream right now: housing costs, health care costs and energy costs,” said Rep. August Pfluger (R-Texas), the RSC’s chair, at a Tuesday news conference. “We’ve got to get this done. We know we have a narrow window of time.”
While the release of the framework signals buy-in from a large swath of House Republicans, a second massive party-line bill is sure to create further divisions within the GOP’s slim House majority. The chairs of critical House committees, including tax-writing chief Jason Smith (R-Mo.), have expressed skepticism that there’s a path forward under the multistep budget reconciliation process.
Punchbowl News noted some more key tidbits:
The Don” payment program is a “zero- to low-down payment” mortgage for “creditworthy borrowers.”
— The bill eliminates capital gains for a home seller if the home is sold to a first-time buyer.
— Repealing the estate tax, which would cost $281 billion in revenue over a decade.
— A new “parallel” option for people to buy health insurance in a “separate marketplace” from Obamacare.
— Send insurance subsidies directly to individuals instead of through credits to health insurance companies, which is in line with what President Donald Trump has called for.
— Require pharmacy benefit managers to pass on rebates to consumers.
You can read the full framework here, but the energy portions, which aim to cut red tape, onerous regulations, and work to reduce costs for American families is where the meat is, at least for me:
Prohibit the imposition of economically significant rules and regulations that have not been preemptively approved by Congress, consistent with the REINS Act.
Score: Hundreds of billions in reduced spending*
2. Codify President Trump’s executive orders focused on deregulation and affordability, modifying their language where necessary in order to adhere to the confines of the Byrd Rule.
3. Impose a fee for Clean Air Act preemption waiver applications made by states seeking to exceed U.S. Environmental Protection Agency federal emissions standards.
4. Impose a series of royalty-style fees on lawsuits challenging federal action under procedural environmental laws and use those fees to fund the Department of Justice’s Environmental and Natural Resources Division.
» Score: $4.4 billion increase in revenues
5. Dramatically reduce Bureau of Land Management (BLM) permitting requirements in instances where less than half of subsurface minerals within a drilling spacing unit are owned by the federal government consistent with the provisions included in the Bureau of Land Management Mineral Spacing Act.
6. Tax third-party litigation to discourage frivolous lawsuits that undermine economic growth. » Score: $27 billion increase in revenues
7. Establish the “Keeping the American Promise” program to provide economic protection against future Administrations cancelling already approved permits, licenses, and other private investments for fossil fuel development and sale.
8. End the taxation of inflation, ensuring that when Americans sell a home, farm, small business, or other assets, the taxes they pay on that sale are not influenced by how inflation has artificially altered the value of their investment.
» Score: $272 billion reduction in revenues
9. Establish a permit by rule for oil, gas, and liquid natural gas exports similar to the provisions included in the Full Responsibility and Expedited Enforcement Act.
10. Refill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, in whole or in part with discounted Venezuelan oil made available by Operation Absolute Resolve, at the level proposed by the House-passed reconciliation bill.
» Score: $1.1 billion reduction in revenue
11. Limit or withhold federal transportation funding to states and cities granting driver’s licenses to illegal aliens, and to sanctuary jurisdictions violating federal law and undermining the President’s effort to secure the border.
» Score: $76.3 billion reduction in spending
12. Establish Jumpstart Accounts that allow individuals to make tax-free contributions to savings accounts that would finance apprenticeship education and initial business costs, and create a new tax credit to allow businesses to onboard additional apprentices, consistent with the President’s efforts to register one million new apprenticeships in the United States.
» Score: $8.1 billion reduction in revenues
13. Reauthorize the Work Opportunity Tax Credit, incentivizing businesses to create new jobs and hire hardworking American citizens, thereby reducing the number of individuals who are dependent on government assistance.
14. Establish categorical exclusions for forest management related-activities consistent with the provisions of the Proven Forest Management Act, protecting natural resources and promoting effective wildfire management provisions.
The Federal Reserve lowering the rates where they should be—inflation report proved the panicans in this institution, specifically Chairman Jerome Powell, wrong again—coupled with the economic provisions in the Big, Beautiful Bill from last summer taking effect, and juicing up the engines with ways to unleash American energy, this is a key building bloc. It’s worth fixing bayonets over, but the Senate is proving a bit stubborn.
Sure, Speaker Mike Johnson is receptive, but Sen. John Thune (R-SD) looks like he’s having cold feet about this new package. An election year or tough times aren’t excuses. Let’s see what happens.
RSC_Reconciliation 2.0 Framework by Matt Vespa
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