Tuesday, May 27th, 2025
Budget Reconciliation: The House passed H.R.1 (215-214), which would make permanent lower tax rates from Republicans’ marquee 2017 tax law that expire at the end of the year and add new tax breaks for seniors and tipped and overtime wages. It would also provide billions of dollars for border security and defense and boost key commodity support programs under the farm bill, which also expires at the end of the year. The cost of those policies would be partially offset by limiting eligibility and federal funding for Medicaid and food assistance benefits, modifying student loan repayments, rolling back clean energy tax credits from Democrats’ 2022 tax and climate law, and imposing new immigration fees. The bill would also:
Increase the debt limit by $4 trillion.
Provide funding to boost national security procurement, support border and immigration enforcement, and improve air traffic control technology.
Temporarily increase the child tax credit and permanently hike employer-provided child care credits.
Expedite permitting for certain energy projects and mandate new lease sales of federal land for oil and gas drilling.
Impose new annual fees on electric and hybrid vehicle owners.
Rein in pharmacy benefit manager practices in Medicare and Medicaid and expand uses of health savings accounts.
Reduce funding for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and other financial agencies.
Repeal Bank Merger Rule: The House passed S.J.Res.13 (220-207), which would repeal a Biden administration rule requiring a more thorough review process to approve bank mergers. The rule, which was issued by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) in September and took effect on Jan. 1, removed a streamlined application process for certain mergers and ended automatic approvals for mergers if the OCC didn’t act on them. It will now head to President Trump, who has said he will sign it.
Simplifying Forms for Veterans Claims: The House passed H.R.1286, which would require the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to contract with a nonpartisan, federally funded research entity to conduct a study on, and provide recommendations for, revising VA forms to be more understandable for veterans and their survivors. Currently, these forms can often be arduous and difficult to understand for veterans or their survivors, and failure to do correctly fill them out can result in delays in processing their claim, delays in receiving a decision on their claim, or even a denial of their claim.
Motor Vehicle Safety Standards Rule Repeal: The Senate passed S.J.Res.55 (51-46), which would repeal a rule from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) regarding Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) for hydrogen vehicles. These standards outline safety requirements for the fuel system and compressed hydrogen storage system in hydrogen vehicles, ensuring their safe operation during normal use and in the event of a crash.
Repealing Environmental Waivers: The Senate passed several resolutions (H.J.Res.87, H.J.Res.88, H.J.Res.89) that would revoke Environmental Protection Agency waivers allowing California to adopt stricter vehicle emissions standards. The EPA waivers, approved during the Biden administration, allow California to exceed federal emissions mandates on gas-powered cars and trucks to curb pollution. Two of the waivers have allowed the state to toughen emissions standards on trucks and heavy-duty vehicles, while a third allowed a state requirement that all new passenger vehicles sold be zero emissions by 2035. About a dozen states that have adopted California’s vehicle standards to curb greenhouse gas emissions stand to be affected by the move. All three bills now head to President Trump, who has said he will sign them.
No Tax on Tips
The US Senate passed the No Tax on Tips Act (S.129) on Tuesday after the Nevada senator Jacky Rosen brought the bill up for a unanimous consent request. No objections were made to Rosen’s request, resulting in the passage of the bill, which now goes to the House.
Many argue it will not stand up to a Constitutional challenge -- all tax bills must originate in the House of Representatives, according to the Constitution.
