What’s in the Trump Policy Bill?

The Senate is still debating a key part of President Trump’s domestic agenda this morning — what he has called his big, beautiful bill. Senators are racing to pass it before the July 4 deadline.

By now, you have probably heard two things about the proposal. First, it would cut taxes in a way that would largely benefit the wealthiest Americans. Second, to recoup some of that lost revenue, it would cut health care programs, particularly Medicaid, and would leave nearly 12 million more Americans uninsured over 10 years.

Those parts are important, but they are far from the only elements in the sprawling 940-page bill. The legislation also touches on food stamps, clean energy, mass deportations, student loans, military spending and more. Today, I’ll explain some of those less discussed provisions.

The other pieces

Because this bill is foremost about the federal budget, it goes through a special procedure — called reconciliation — that lets the Senate pass it with a simple majority, no filibuster allowed. Republican lawmakers have therefore treated this as a rare opportunity to accomplish a bunch of different priorities.

Food stamp cuts: The bill would cut SNAP, the food aid program that 40 million people use, by about 20 percent. It would make work requirements stricter and ask states to pick up more of the cost. The work requirements alone would likely eliminate millions of people from SNAP’s rolls. Millions of others would likely have their benefits reduced. And depending on how states react to the cuts, those reductions could end up being even steeper.

Supporters argue that these measures are needed to save money and to reduce what they see as Americans’ dependence on government programs. Critics of the cuts say that they will translate to more hunger and poverty, disproportionately hurting the working class.

Clean energy disinvestment: The bill would roll back policies that support clean energy. That includes tax credits for solar and wind projects, as well as credits that help Americans buy heat pumps and electric cars. It would even impose a new tax on clean energy projects.

Republicans, many of whom deny the science of climate change, have characterized these subsidies as giveaways to an industry that doesn’t deserve support if it can’t survive on its own. Critics of the proposal, including Elon Musk, say the tax credits are needed not just to address climate change but also to give an important U.S. industry a fighting chance against its heavily subsidized Chinese counterpart.

Funding for deportations: Trump says he needs more money to carry out mass deportations, and the legislation would make sure he has it. New funding would support building more of the wall along the southern border, adding more border surveillance and constructing more prisons, among other measures.

Less student loan relief: The bill would eliminate some of the more generous student loan repayment programs and limit the federal government’s ability to provide relief. The bill’s backers say the changes shift the burden of student debt off taxpayers, most of whom have not graduated from college, back onto the people who took out the loans. Opponents say the changes will keep people in debt longer and force more of them to default.

More military spending: The legislation would add funds for shipbuilding, munitions, Trump’s “Golden Dome” missile defense system and other Pentagon initiatives.

And much more: The proposal would create tax-advantaged savings accounts for newborns, called “Trump accounts,” that would start with $1,000 in government contributions. It would increase money for air traffic control and the Secret Service. And it would help pay for America’s 250th anniversary celebrations next year.

To see all of the provisions — there are nearly 300 — check out this list that my colleagues have put together, which explains everything in the bill and how much it would cost or save.

What’s next

It’s still not clear whether the bill, as it currently stands, will become law. Senators need to vote on their version, and then it will go back to the House for final passage. Republicans control the House by a thinner margin than they do the Senate, and a few defectors could complicate things. Still, Trump has demanded they pass it — and Republicans have not bucked the president much since his return to office.

How much is $3.3 trillion?

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that Trump’s domestic policy bill will add at least $3.3 trillion to the national debt over the next decade. That number is so large that it’s difficult for most people to comprehend. Our writer Evan Gorelick did the math.

Say you start playing the lottery the day you’re born. If you somehow managed to win every game in every U.S. state, every single day — we’re talking everything from scratch-offs to Powerball jackpots — it would still take you around 75 years to rack up $3.3 trillion (assuming, of course, that you pay taxes on your winnings).

Here are five other ways to think about $3.3 trillion:

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