US House Passes Massive Spending and Tax Bill: Austerity for the Poor, Windfalls for the Rich

In the early hours of May 22nd, the U.S. House of Representatives narrowly passed H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, a sprawling 1,100-page reconciliation package reflecting the policy priorities of the Trump administration and the Republican-led Congress. The vote was 215-214, with two Republicans joining all Democrats in opposition.

Marketed as a spending and tax overhaul, H.R. 1 delivers sweeping cuts to social safety net programs while providing substantial tax breaks for high-income households and corporations. The result: an estimated $4 trillion increase in the national debt and a federal deficit projected to rise by $230 billion annually, or roughly 10%.

A Bill Few Have Read, Pushed Through at Lightning Speed

Despite its magnitude, the final text of the bill was released just hours before the vote, after a 1 a.m. session of the House Rules Committee added a 42-page “manager’s amendment” that made major last-minute changes. The rushed timeline has left lawmakers, watchdogs, and the public scrambling to understand what exactly was passed.

Slashing the Safety Net, Bolstering Security and the Wealthy

Among the most significant impacts of the bill:

• Deep cuts to SNAP and Medicaid, achieved through both reduced funding and stricter eligibility requirements.

• Increased spending for the military, border wall construction, immigration enforcement, and detention facilities, offsetting about half of the domestic cuts.

• Tax changes that disproportionately harm low-income Americans while rewarding the wealthy, including restoration of the full state and local tax (SALT) deduction, which benefits high earners in high-tax states.

According to a Congressional Budget Office (CBO) analysis, the bill will reduce “household resources”—including wages and federal benefits—by roughly 4% for the lowest-income households, while increasing them by a similar margin for the highest-income groups.

Ideological Riders: Culture War Embedded in Fiscal Policy

Tucked into the bill are provisions that go far beyond fiscal policy:

• Repeals of green energy initiatives and funding.

• A nationwide ban on gender-affirming care—not just for minors but for adults as well.

• A ban on abortion services.

• A clause limiting the federal judiciary’s ability to enforce court orders against the government, raising serious constitutional concerns.

These inclusions push the boundaries of what’s traditionally allowed in a reconciliation bill, which is supposed to be restricted to tax and spending measures.

Senate Showdown Ahead—Rules May Be Bent or Broken

The bill now heads to the Senate, where reconciliation rules technically shield it from the filibuster if its provisions are deemed budget-related. But those rules are under threat. Recent moves by the Senate—such as passing Congressional Review Act legislation in defiance of the Parliamentarian—suggest that Republican leadership may ignore or override procedural norms to push the bill through.

If H.R. 1 becomes law in its current form, it will represent one of the most radical rewritings of federal priorities in decades—tilting the scales toward militarization and wealth concentration while gutting public health programs and civil liberties.

Implications for Higher Education

While higher education is not directly targeted in the bill’s text—at least as far as early reviews can tell—the implications are ominous. Cuts to Medicaid and SNAP will harm low-income students who depend on those programs. Restrictive immigration and gender policies may force colleges into legal and ethical battles. And the bill’s broader austerity measures signal an era in which public institutions, already under stress, may face even deeper disinvestment.

As always, the devil is in the details. But for now, those details remain elusive—locked in a bill few have read and rushed through in the dead of night.