An act to provide for reconciliation pursuant to title II of H. Con. Res. 14.

Purpose & Problem

Is the problem real and worth federal action?

The bill uses the reconciliation process to reduce taxes, change spending for many federal programs, increase the debt limit by $5 trillion, and address agencies across the government, as stated in its text and the CRS summary.

Scope & Related Provisions

Does it stay focused, or carry unrelated add-ons?

Most sections address taxes, defense, border security, health programs, energy, agriculture, student loans, and immigration fees, which all connect to spending and revenue. Section 60025 appropriates $256.6 million for capital repair and security at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, a performing arts venue, which is not directly tied to those fiscal policy goals.

Who Is Affected

Who benefits, and who bears the cost?

Individuals face changed tax rates, credits, and deductions. Farmers, students, and borrowers see new program rules. States bear new cost-sharing duties for Medicaid and SNAP. Defense contractors, energy producers, and commercial space companies face revised fees, credits, and contracts. Immigrants and asylum seekers pay new fees.

Cost & Funding

Is it affordable and responsibly funded?

The bill authorizes hundreds of billions in new direct spending, including over $150 billion for defense, $50 billion for border infrastructure and detention, and $50 billion for rural health. It also rescinds unobligated funds from prior laws. The debt limit is raised by $5 trillion. No single CBO cost estimate for the full bill appears in the sources.

Risks & Implementation

What could go wrong in practice?

The bill requires dozens of agencies to write new rules, build new data systems, and hire large numbers of staff on tight timelines. States must build matching-fund and eligibility systems for Medicaid and SNAP. Many provisions take effect within one to three years, leaving limited time to set up the required programs and verification tools.

TITLE I--COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, NUTRITION, AND FORESTRY

This title makes major changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), including restricting who qualifies, requiring states to share some program costs, and limiting future benefit increases. It also updates farm commodity support programs such as price loss coverage, marketing loans, sugar and dairy policy, and rescinds unspent forestry funds from a previous law.

TITLE II--COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES

This title gives the Department of Defense over $150 billion in new funding for fiscal year 2025, available through 2029. The money covers a wide range of military needs, including better housing and pay for troops, new ships and aircraft, missiles and weapons, nuclear forces, cybersecurity, and operations in the Indo-Pacific region. It also funds border support missions, defense oversight by the Inspector General, and military construction projects.

TITLE III--COMMITTEE ON BANKING, HOUSING, AND URBAN AFFAIRS

This title cuts the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's funding cap nearly in half, from 12% to 6.5% of Federal Reserve earnings. It cancels leftover money from a program that helped retrofit multifamily housing to be greener and more resilient. It also eliminates the SEC's reserve fund and transfers its remaining money to the U.S. Treasury, while adding $1 billion for carrying out the Defense Production Act.

TITLE IV--COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION

This title funds major upgrades to Coast Guard ships, aircraft, and facilities totaling about $24.6 billion, and provides about $12.6 billion for FAA air traffic control improvements and nearly $10 billion for NASA Mars and Artemis moon missions. It also sets rules for auctioning radio frequency spectrum, creates user fees for commercial space launches, eliminates fuel economy penalties for automakers, and rescinds several previously appropriated funds including $850 million from a wireless supply chain program.

TITLE V--COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES

This title expands oil, gas, and coal leasing on federal lands and offshore areas, sets minimum lease sale schedules, and rolls back royalty rates and Inflation Reduction Act energy provisions. It also increases timber sales on federal land, sets new fees and revenue-sharing rules for wind and solar projects on public land, funds Strategic Petroleum Reserve maintenance and refilling, and appropriates money for water storage projects and AI research at national laboratories. It also rescinds unspent funds from several Inflation Reduction Act programs.

TITLE VI--COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS Off-Topic

This title cancels unspent money from dozens of environmental and climate programs originally funded by the Inflation Reduction Act, including grants for clean vehicles, air pollution, greenhouse gas reduction, and climate justice. It also gives $256.6 million to the Kennedy Center for repairs and security. It adds a new option letting project developers pay a fee to get faster environmental reviews under federal law.

Section 60025 appropriates $256.6 million for capital repair, maintenance, and security upgrades at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

TITLE VII--FINANCE

This title makes permanent or extends many tax cuts from 2017, including lower income tax rates, a higher standard deduction, a larger child tax credit, and a bigger estate tax exemption. It also creates new temporary deductions for tips, overtime pay, and car loan interest through 2028, and raises the cap on state and local tax deductions to $40,000 for most taxpayers through 2029. Several rules require a valid Social Security number to claim these benefits, and some deductions are phased out for higher-income earners.

TITLE VIII--COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, EDUCATION, LABOR, AND PENSIONS

This title changes several rules for federal student loans and grants. It sets new limits on how much graduate students and parents can borrow, creates a new income-based repayment plan called the Repayment Assistance Plan, and phases out the existing income-contingent repayment option. It also expands Pell Grant eligibility to include short-term workforce training programs of 150 to 600 hours, while adding new rules that exclude students with high income from receiving Pell Grants.

TITLE IX--COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

This title gives tens of billions of dollars to Customs and Border Protection, ICE, and FEMA for border wall construction, hiring more agents, detaining migrants, and surveillance technology. It also creates a fund to reimburse states and local governments for border security spending going back to January 2021. Additional sections require audits of federal employee health insurance enrollments, fund pandemic spending oversight, and give the Office of Management and Budget $100 million to find budget efficiencies.

TITLE X--COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY

This part creates new fees that immigrants must pay when applying for asylum, employment authorization, parole, temporary protected status, visas, and other immigration benefits. Most fees start between $24 and $1,500 and will increase each year with inflation. The fees cannot be waived, and the money collected goes mostly to the U.S. Treasury or to immigration agencies to cover processing costs.