What's Happening?
One year ago this week, President Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) into law. The $3.4 trillion package dramatically expanded immigration enforcement, cut health care for low-income families, and made permanent tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans.
As Washington celebrates the nation's 250th anniversary, many Americans are still struggling to afford health care, housing, gas, and other everyday essentials. One year later, organizations like Emgage Action continue to hold elected officials accountable and assess the impact of the administration's agenda. Here's where things stand.
The OBBBA permanently extended many of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act tax cuts, benefiting businesses and higher-income households the most. It also temporarily lowered taxes on some tips and overtime pay for eligible workers, but those tax breaks are set to end after 2028.
But where did those tax changes come from? Major tradeoffs at everyday American’s expense.
To offset the cost of these cuts and new spending, Congress reduced social programs like Medicaid and SNAP, rolled back clean-energy tax credits, and expanded immigration enforcement. Let’s break it down:
Health Care & Social Safety Net Cuts
- Cuts nearly $1 trillion from Medicaid, putting an estimated 11 million Americans at risk of losing health coverage, while delaying improvements to Medicare programs that help low-income seniors and people with disabilities afford premiums and other health care costs.
- Cuts SNAP by about 20%, the largest reduction in the program’s history, reducing benefits and tightening eligibility rules, leaving an estimated 4 million people, including 1 million children, with less or no food assistance each month.
Clean Energy Cuts
- Rolls back clean energy investments by ending tax credits for clean vehicles, EV chargers, and other energy-efficient projects, slowing the transition to cleaner energy and disproportionately impacting communities already facing the greatest environmental burdens.
Expanded Immigration Enforcement
- Dramatically expands immigration enforcement by investing over $140 billion in ICE, detention centers, and deportations, while increasing costs for asylum seekers, TPS applicants, and many immigrant families seeking legal protections or sending money to loved ones abroad.
Policy Perspectives
So Who Really Benefits?
Let’s be clear about what’s happening.
The name was doing more work than the policy.
The OBBBA was sold as relief for working families. One year later, the winners are clear…high-income households, large estates, and corporations receiving permanent tax breaks, along with expanded funding for immigration enforcement.
For working and immigrant communities, the impact has been very different, higher immigration fees, stricter enforcement, and cuts or limits to health care and food assistance through Medicaid and SNAP. Temporary relief for workers expired or was limited, while benefits for the wealthy were locked in.
The result is simple imbalance. Security up the income ladder, and more costs and uncertainty for everyone else.
If the goal was to expand enforcement and protect tax advantages for the wealthy, the bill delivered. But if the goal was to make life more affordable and stable for working families, it fell short.
One year later, the question remains, who was this bill really for?
ON OUR RADAR
Birthright Citizenship Fight Heads to Congress
After the Supreme Court reaffirmed birthright citizenship under the 14th Amendment, Republicans are divided on what comes next. Some are pushing for a constitutional amendment, while others are backing narrower proposals like cracking down on “birth tourism” or expanding immigration enforcement. The split highlights the legal and political challenges of birthright citizenship through Congress.
Millions at Risk as Supreme Court Clears Way to End TPS
A Supreme Court ruling allowing the Trump administration to end Temporary Protected Status for Haiti and Syria has put the program’s future, and the legal status of hundreds of thousands of people, in jeopardy. With more countries potentially in line for termination, legal experts and advocates warn that long-time TPS holders may have no clear path to permanent status as the policy continues to unravel.
GOP Fight Over Trump Elections Bill Shuts Down House Early
A push by House Republicans to advance President Trump’s Save America Act collapsed after intraparty opposition stalled the key procedural vote and blocked progress on a must-pass defense bill. With GOP factions split over how far to go on voting restrictions, leadership abandoned plans for further action and sent lawmakers home for an early July 4th recess while the fight over the elections overhaul continues.
Trump Turns America’s 250th Anniversary Into a Political Spectacle
As the U.S. marks 250 years since independence, a recent report describes how President Trump has reshaped the national anniversary into a highly partisan “Freedom 250” agenda filled with rallies, events, and messaging tied to his administration. Critics say the celebrations are overshadowing the country’s official semiquincentennial plans and deepening divisions over what the milestone should represent.
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