The Budget That Hurts America

Slashed safety nets, exploding debts, and a Government that works for the wealthy.

Jun 27, 2025

Since Trump’s inauguration, we’ve faced an unrelenting wave of political and policy assaults. Amid the chaos, it’s easy to lose track of what’s happening in Congress—but we can’t afford to. Work on the 2025 budget bill is moving forward, and this legislation is not just bad, it’s getting worse.

The Trump administration’s “flood the zone” strategy is working: a recent Data for Progress survey found that 40% of voters knew nothing about the budget bill, a bill that represents one of the largest transfers of wealth from the poor to the rich in modern American history. It slashes healthcare, education, and food assistance to fund tax breaks for billionaires and corporate donors. It also adds nearly $3 trillion to the federal debt over the next decade, driving the debt from about 100% to 124% of GDP by 2034, burdening future generations with interest payments while crowding out investments in education, infrastructure, and climate resilience.

Many hoped the Senate would moderate the worst parts of the House bill. That didn’t happen.

Like the House-passed version—which delivers $1.1 trillion in tax cuts to people making over $500,000—the Senate Republican leadership’s tax plan extends the regressive 2017 tax cuts and adds new ones for the wealthy and corporations. Meanwhile, working families are left out. They receive no meaningful tax relief and face deeper cuts to healthcare and food assistance.

Both the Senate and House versions increase funding for Defense and Homeland Security, $156 billion and $150 billion, respectively. The bill also dramatically expands Trump’s deportation machine. Each version includes over $160 billion in funding for ICE, Customs and Border Protection, detention centers, and deportation flights over the next five years. These efforts are already tearing through immigrant communities, violating the rights of undocumented people, legal residents, and even American citizens.

Some Things Were Too Extreme—Even for the Senate

Thankfully, the Senate Parliamentarian has ruled that a number of egregious provisions cannot be included unless 60 Senators vote for them. Her rulings removed items that would have:

Made it easier to drill offshore and harder to build wind and solar projects
Forced the sale of millions of acres of public land
Stripped federal courts of contempt powers
Punished sanctuary cities
Weakened job protections for federal workers
Eliminated the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

The Parliamentarian is still reviewing several critical provisions, including whether the Senate can use a manipulated “current policy” baseline to obscure the true cost of the bill. If she rules that a stricter “current law” baseline must be used, it could re-score the deficit impact upward by hundreds of billions of dollars, possibly requiring further cuts or shrinking the size of the tax breaks.

What’s Next

The Senate is scheduled to vote on its version of the bill before the July 4 recess. Senate Leader John Thune has even threatened to delay the break until the bill passes. If the Senate and House pass different versions, a conference committee will reconcile them, and the final bill will be sent to Trump for his signature.

There are still divisions within the Republican Party—between fiscal conservatives, who are worried about the rising deficit, and moderate Republicans, who are hesitant to vote for massive cuts to programs their constituents rely on. But the political pressure is high.

A Continuing Resolution Is Not a Crisis—It’s a Lifeline

Right now, the government is operating under a continuing resolution (CR) because Congress has failed to pass a full budget for the current fiscal year. In fact, Congress hasn’t passed a comprehensive budget on time since 2009. If this bill collapses and we continue under a CR, that’s a win because it blocks the worst parts of this legislation.

What You Can Do

The most important thing is to spread the word. Remember: 40% of Americans don’t even know this bill exists. You can help change that.

1. Educate Yourself

We’ve written several Substacks breaking down the bill’s impacts on health care, Medicaid, abortion, education, and more. Please let us know what else you would like to see.

2. Keep the Message Simple

This bill cuts health care, education, and environmental protections to give more tax breaks to the wealthy.

3. Call Your Members of Congress

Tell them to vote NO. You can find your representatives and their contact info at Common Cause, or call the Congressional switchboard at 202-224-3121.

Sample Message:

“I’m calling to urge [Rep/Senator Name] to oppose the 'One Big Beautiful Bill' and any reconciliation bill that cuts Medicaid, SNAP, education, or climate funding to pay for tax breaks for the wealthy. We need a budget that works for working people—not one that rewards billionaires.”