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TEN SNEAKY SLEEPER PROVISIONS  
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Robert Kuttner
May 24, 2025
The American Prospect
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_ Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill, Yet more horrors are hidden in the
fine print. _

President Donald Trump and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA)
talk with reporters after a House Republican Conference meeting on the
budget reconciliation bill at the Capitol, May 20, 2025., Tom
Williams/CQ Roll Call via AP Images

 

The headlines in the budget reconciliation bill that passed the House
by one vote early Thursday morning are well known: massive tax cuts
for the rich financed by crippling program cuts in Medicaid and food
stamps, raising the federal debt by $3.3 trillion over a decade, and
in turn spooking bond markets. But a lot of other mischief is buried
in the fine print. Here are ten of the worst:

CRIPPLING COURTS. The bill, hiding behind the premise that it is an
appropriations measure, prohibits any funds from being used to carry
out court orders holding executive branch officials in contempt. This
is designed to enable Trump and his officials to continue defying
court orders. It is almost certainly unconstitutional—if courts have
the nerve to say so.

BONUS FOR THE TAX PREP INDUSTRY. The Biden administration sponsored a
Direct File measure to allow taxpayers to save money by using a free
IRS tool to file their tax return rather than paying commercial tax
preparers. The program is now available to taxpayers in 25 states. The
reconciliation bill repeals the program.

MORE SAVAGING OF MIGRANTS. The bill adds $45 billion to build
immigration jails—more than 13 times ICE’s current detention
budget. The bill would allow indefinite detention of immigrant
children. It also adds several fees intended to harass. The measure
charges families $3,500 to reunite with a child who arrived alone at
the border, and a person seeking asylum will have to pay an
“application fee” of at least $1,000.

TERMINATING THE TAX STATUS OF NONPROFITS. The reconciliation text
gives the administration the power to define nonprofits as
“terrorist-supporting organizations” and expedite the ending of
their tax status. This is ostensibly directed against pro-Palestinian
groups, but could be used to suppress the free speech and activism of
climate organizations and others.

BLOCKING STATE REGULATION OF AI. The bill prohibits any state or
subdivision from passing “any law or regulation regulating
artificial intelligence models, artificial intelligence systems, or
automated decision systems during the 10-year period beginning on the
date of the enactment of this Act.” It requires the repeal of any
such laws already on the books. According to The Lever
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the language could be stretched to block efforts by local governments
to regulate private equity firms and other landlords using AI software
to jack up rents.

GUTTING THE ESTATE TAX. As if the current exemptions were not enough,
the bill raises the no-tax floor to a staggering $15 million for
single people and $30 million for couples in 2026. So a couple could
leave $29.99 million to their heirs, tax-free. As recently as 2001,
2.1 percent of estates paid some tax. With this change, the percentage
falls to less than 0.08 percent
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WEAKENING THE CHILD TAX CREDIT. The bill nominally increases the
current Child Tax Credit from $2,000 to $2,500 per child. But it also
lowers the eligibility income threshold, making millions of children
ineligible. The bill also excludes from the credit 4.5 million
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children who have a parent without a Social Security number but who
pays taxes with a tax identification number. These children are
predominantly U.S. citizens with an immigrant parent.

EXPANDING SCHOOL VOUCHERS. The bill gives $20 billion in the form of
tax credits to donors who give money to voucher schools. It also
creates a tax shelter from paying capital gains taxes to donors who
give appreciated stock to voucher schools. These two provisions amount
to a direct federal subsidy to voucher schools using wealthy
individuals as a pass-through. This government support for voucher
schools comes at a time when Department of Education support for
public schools is being slashed.

STEALTH CUTS IN THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT. The bill allows tax credits
that subsidize ACA premiums to expire at the end of 2025. The result
will be that out-of-pocket costs for insurance under the ACA will
become more expensive and millions of people will lose coverage.

AND … SUPPORT FOR GUN SILENCERS. Buried deep in the bill is a
provision that repeals the $200 excise tax on the sale of gun
silencers, which have no lawful purpose other than concealing
shootings.

Most of these measures violate the principles of the budget
reconciliation progress, which holds that reconciliation is limited to
budget and spending and that ordinary legislation is not permissible.
Many senators are unhappy with the House bill, and the Senate rules on
germaneness are tighter, thanks to the Byrd Rule
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“extraneous” matters may not be included in a budget bill. As the
House bill heads for the Senate, the circus will continue.

But the bill will likely pass with most of the cuts intact. And as the
unpopular cuts bite, the Republican Party must be held responsible in
the court of public opinion.

Robert Kuttner is co-founder and co-editor of The American Prospect,
and professor at Brandeis University’s Heller School.

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