The House GOP’s largest caucus released a plan for a second ‘big, beautiful bill’ on Tuesday morning, which the group says could cut the federal deficit by over $1 trillion.
Republican Study Committee Chairman August Pfluger, R-Texas, unveiled the roadmap for what’s likely to be a massive piece of legislation during a press conference alongside House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, whose panel would play a central role in advancing any budget reconciliation bill.
Budget reconciliation allows the majority parties in the House and Senate to pass significant policy reforms by lowering the Senate’s threshold to advance a bill to a simple majority rather than 60 votes, provided its measures adhere to a specific set of guardrails.
It comes as House Republicans wrestle with a razor-thin majority, which just got slimmer after the abrupt resignation of former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and the sudden death of Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Calif.
Republicans’ first reconciliation legislation, which President Donald Trump dubbed his ‘big, beautiful bill,’ was passed after months of tense intraparty negotiations with all but two GOP lawmakers’ support.
At the time, the threat of Trump’s first-term tax cuts in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) expiring at the end of 2025 was critical to getting the ideologically diverse GOP conference on board with the bill — while Republicans have no such anchor this year.
Asked about those dynamics by Fox News Digital, Pfluger said, ‘That’s why this framework is so important.’
‘We spent a lot of time looking at what the theme of a reconciliation bill should be, what is the overlapping area that we all care about. And I would also submit to you that Democrats care about this as well,’ Pfluger said. ‘The details of exactly which bills will be included that’s the hard work that we now will embark upon.’
Affordability appears to be the cornerstone of the legislation, according to an 11-page document obtained by Fox News Digital.
Republicans are seeking to lower healthcare costs by changing the existing Obamacare subsidy structure to route dollars directly to taxpayers through Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) rather than money going to insurance companies, and codifying the Trump administration’s executive actions on most favored nation drug pricing, that is aimed at lowering the costs of popular prescription drugs.
The bill would also include measures codifying Trump’s energy deregulation policies in order to lower costs for U.S. oil and natural gas.
A provision in the framework on taxing ‘third-party litigation to discourage frivolous lawsuits that undermine economic growth’ regarding U.S. energy, and a series of other fees associated with lawsuits, are expected to raise federal revenues by at least $27 billion.
‘I’m just talking about the affordability issue — I do think it’s the most important issue for November,’ Arrington said. ‘I think it’s the most important issue for the American people.’
Rep. Stephanie Bice, R-Okla., among the Republicans who spoke at the press conference, honed in on the deregulatory aspect as a pathway to lowering costs.
‘We must do this second package to continue to codify President Trump’s agenda and to enact a pro-growth and pro-America agenda. Affordability starts with energy and deregulation,’ she said.
The framework also includes a host of other priorities floated by Republicans this year, including limiting ‘federal transportation funding to states and cities granting driver’s licenses to illegal aliens, and to sanctuary jurisdictions violating federal law and undermining the President’s effort to secure the border,’ which the document said would save $76.3 billion federal dollars.
It would also impose new restrictions on illegal immigrants being able to use federal programs like the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit and block federal funds for states that allow illegal immigrants to get government healthcare benefits.
The framework also aims to make home buying more affordable for Americans with new ‘Home Savings Accounts,’ which would allow them to pull from other tax-advantaged savings accounts if that money went toward buying a home.
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has said on multiple occasions that he hopes for a second reconciliation bill, but has not endorsed a specific piece of legislation yet.
