Trump’s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ passes House; here’s what’s in it

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” passed the House of Representatives early Thursday morning in a narrow 215 - 214 vote.

Touted as “the most significant piece of legislation that will ever be signed in the history of our country” by Trump, the bill has sparked massive protests from Democrats and internal warfare among Republicans.

Among the pluses of the bill that Republicans touted are the raise in the State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction. It also fulfills a number of Trump campaign pledges, including the extension of 2017 tax cuts, and no tax on tips, overtime and social security. Trump’s “Golden Dome” missile defense system, which is designed to defend the entire country in the event of an attack, is also part of the bill.

However, it also cuts the Supplemental Nutrition and Assistance Program, SNAP, by $267 billion over the next decade; seeks to axe tax credits for clean energy; and cuts almost $700 billion in Medicaid funding.

“Today marks a historic victory for Staten Islanders, Brooklynites, and families across the nation who have been calling for tax relief. Our legislation builds on the success of President Trump’s 2017 tax cuts by making those tax provisions permanent, while delivering additional tax relief for senior citizens, increasing the SALT and Standard Deductions, and expanding the Child Tax Credit to ensure hardworking Americans keep more of their hard-earned money,” Rep. Nicole Malliotakis wrote in a statement.

However, many Staten Islanders fear the cuts to Medicaid and SNAP will impact hundreds of thousands of residents who heavily rely on those benefits to meet their daily needs.

“This big beautiful scam is another handout to the 1% of Americans, at the expense of the most vulnerable — and last time I checked, there are no billionaires on Staten Island. But there are 180,000 Staten Islanders on Medicaid, many of whom are seniors, who are at risk of losing their healthcare. Additionally, the Congressional Budget Office said this tax cut will increase the deficit by roughly 3.8 trillion — so the poor get punished, billionaires who live elsewhere get tax cuts, and we’re all left paying the big beautiful bill,” Mike DeCillis, a former Democratic candidate for Malliotakis’ seat, 9/11 first responder, and a political activist, said.

The bill will go to the Senate for a vote in coming weeks.

Here’s what you need to know about this massive bill that could touch the lives of many Americans:

Almost $7B in Medicaid cuts

The bill calls for almost $700 billion to be cut from Medicaid spending. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, a government-run outfit, said that in 2023 Medicaid spending amounted to $871.7 billion.

The bill will alter the eligibility requirements that Americans will need to meet in order to qualify for Medicaid as well.

“We also included key provisions to root out waste, fraud, and abuse in the Medicaid program so tax dollars go to protect our seniors, disabled, and the most vulnerable citizens who rely on it,” said Malliotakis, who voted against the first iteration of the bill.

Should the bill pass into law, novel “community engagement requirements” will be enacted. That means, should an able-bodied citizen without dependents want Medicaid, they will need to prove that they spend, at minimum, 80 hours each month at work, working on education, or being of service.

Medicaid recipients will also need to prove their eligibility biannually instead of annually.

In a preliminary assessment, these changes, according to the Congressional Budget Office, would effectively eliminate 8.6 million people from receiving Medicaid over the course of the next 10 years.

“…they are condemning millions to go without doctors, medicine, or even a hospital bed,” Interim Co-Executive Directors at Citizen Action of New York Carolyn Martinez-Class and Rebecca Garrard said in a written statement. “These so-called representatives chose billionaires over babies, corporations over communities, and greed over human life. It’s been made crystal clear: they don’t work for us — they work for the ultra-wealthy — and Citizen Action of NY will make sure voters remember that at the ballot box in 2026.”

Those who receive healthcare from Planned Parenthood while on Medicaid will also suffer, as the bill seeks to “prohibit Medicaid funds” from reaching the institution, said the Associated Press.

Temporary tax cuts on overtime, tips, auto loans

Trump’s promise of no tax on tips is on its way to fruition with this bill, though it was already passed by the Senate in a standalone bill entitled the No Tax on Tips Act Tuesday, according to NBC.

No tax on overtime made it into the “Big, Beautiful Bill,” as well.

The bill additionally allows for a full tax deduction for Americans who have auto loans on an American-made automobiles — but this deduction, the no tax on tips, and the no tax on overtime will expire come 2028, the Associated Press reported.

“Great job by Speaker Mike Johnson, and the House Leadership, and thank you to every Republican who voted YES on this Historic Bill! 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! There is no time to waste,” Trump wrote on Truth Social Thursday.

SNAP Impacted

SNAP will see a $267 billion cut over the course of the next decade.

Three quarters of the administrative costs will be handed to the states, though they will only see 5% of the benefit costs — boosting the current stats of 50% of the administrative costs and 0% of the benefit costs, the Associated Press explained.

Like Medicaid, requirement stipulations would change as well.

Should the bill pass, able-bodied recipients — meaning, adults with no dependents leaning on them — will have to work an additional 10 years to keep their SNAP benefits. Presently, that group of recipients only has to prove work requirements until they are 54 years old. This would increase that to 64 years old.

Those with children are not exempt from the changes either. Right now, parents can avoid the work requirements for SNAP until their children are 18 years old. The bill would reduce that to parents with children age seven and under.

“They [Republicans] decided they needed to move up the timeline: cuts to SNAP will take effect as soon as next year. That makes it even harder for food pantries to adapt: more chaos, more hunger, and more closures among our food pantries and kitchens that serve the hungry. Widespread hunger is now on a fast track. Republicans seem to be saying that the average person who needs food gets only $5 a day. A dozen eggs costs more than $5 a day,” Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer said Thursday. “And that’s the price Republicans accept so they can cut taxes on the wealthy. Republicans are stealing from hungry kids, stealing from low-income families, to give trillions in tax giveaways to the wealthy. This is not beautiful. It’s ugly. It’s revolting.”

State and Local Tax (SALT) Deduction and Standard Deduction boosted

Malliotakis was among the Republicans most vocal about upping the SALT deduction.

The bill would now boost the deduction to $40,000 for residents who make up to a maximum of $500,000 annually. The cap, in addition to the income requirement, would incrementally rise by a single percentage point yearly over the next decade, according to the Associated Press.

The standard deduction would increase as well, Malliotakis’s statement reads. Individual filers would see an increase to $16,300, while married couples filing jointly would see an increase to $32,600, provided they do not itemize their deductions on their tax return.

Seniors would additionally receive a $4,000 boost on their standard deductions, but that would only remain in effect until 2028.

“People aren’t leaving New York because of the weather, they’re not leaving New York because of the topography, they’re leaving New York because of the cost of living,” Rep. Mike Lawler of Brooklyn told Politico last week.

Child-based tax benefits

Malliotakis’s statement includes a series of benefits included in the bill, which are as follows: “makes adoption tax credits more accessible, expands 529 education savings accounts, supports scholarships and school choice, expands the Child Tax Credit to $2,500, and improves access to child care.” Malliotakis’s legislation to extend tax-free employer reimbursement for students and college graduates is also included.

Moreover, a 529-esque account is being added into the bill.

Nicknamed “Trump” accounts, these special funds are designed to help children born from Jan 1, 2024, to Dec. 31, 2028, with expenses throughout their life. Parents and legal guardians will receive a $1,000 benefit from the government should they open a “Trump” account.

Afterwards, they can add $5,000 annually to the account. The account will be essentially untouchable in terms of withdrawals until the child the account is for turns 18 years old. After that, half of the accumulated funds in the account will be eligible for withdrawal for expenses like higher education and other forms of schooling — like a 529 account.

The “Trump” account diverges from a 529 account in two regards: the account beneficiary can withdraw up to 50% from the account for a first-time home purchase between the age of 18 and 29.

At 30-years-old, the beneficiary can then use the remaining 50% for any expenses, the bill says.

‘Golden Dome’ and Border Security provisions

The Defense Department will receive supplementary funds amounting to almost $150 billion.

Of that funding, the following sectors would benefit, as described by the Associated Press:

• $34 billion for dedicated shipbuilding expansion of the Navy’s fleet of ships.
• $25 billion for Trump’s “Golden Dome for America,” meant to defend the country from incoming missile attacks.
• $21 billion for ammunition restock.
• $9 billion devoted to service members and their quality of life (healthcare, housing, special pay).
• $5 billion for border security.

On top of that $150 billion proposed for the Pentagon, another $46.5 billion would be given to the revival of Trump’s border wall at the Mexico border, which was not completed during his first term.

Trump only built 452 miles of wall as the 45th president, BBC reported. Furthermore, the wall was largely built in places where barrier structures existed prior to his declaration. Mexico did not pay for it, either.

Another $4 billion is being carved out for 3,000 more border patrol agents and 5,000 more customs officials with yet another $2.1 billion being saved “for signing and retention bonuses” for those 8,000 new employees, according to the Associated Press.

An unspecified amount will go to the employment of 10,000 more ICE officials.

Those seeking asylum within the border of the United States will need to pay $1,000 as well; aligning America with countries like Iran and Australia.

Newark Liberty National Airport gets funding

One of the most popular airports near New York City will be one of the institutions to receive some of $12.5 billion dedicated to upgrading air traffic control systems.

The airport has been in the spotlight after sporadic outages of radar and communications systems left air traffic controllers and pilots in the dark for as long as 90 seconds on April 28 and May 9.

But even before those problems, aviation was already in the spotlight ever since the deadly midair collision of a passenger jet and a U.S. Army helicopter above Washington, D.C., in January, and a string of other crashes and mishaps since then. The investigations into those crashes continue while the U.S. Department of Transportation tries to make progress on the long-standing issues of not having enough air traffic controllers and relying on outdated equipment.

Eliminating energy tax breaks

Americans who enjoy green energy tax breaks are in danger of losing them should this bill pass in an effort to regain the loss of taxes from tips and overtime.

“Republicans know that the clean energy tax credits are popular. They know the clean energy tax credits will reduce costs for American families. So, instead of saying to kill it outright, they say you must start within 60 days. That is saying kill it outright. Everyone knows that; and I saw that some of the hard-right people from the oil patch states were gloating that clean energy is gone,” Schumer said. “It’s one of the most devastating things added at the last minute in this bill, snuck in in the dark of night. And we in the Senate – and I hope our Republican colleagues will join us in this – are going to fight this every step of the way.”

Schumer called out Trump for this provision, saying: “Donald Trump says he wants America to dominate energy, and then he does this? Taxing energy projects, raising costs for families? Nope. Donald Trump, what you’re doing is absolutely stupid and counterproductive. You don’t even know what you’re doing.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.