June 29,2025

Crapo: One Big Beautiful Bill Delivers Historic Tax Relief, Achieves Record Savings

“Extending good tax policy, delivering targeted relief and reining in wasteful spending is the best way to restore economic prosperity and opportunity for all Americans.”

Washington, D.C.--Ahead of Senate debate on President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill, Idaho Senator Mike Crapo, Chairman of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over tax policy and federal health care programs, explained the bill prevents massive tax hikes across the board, and overwhelmingly benefits middle-class households and job creators. 

Senator Crapo highlighted the bill not only prevents the largest tax increase in U.S. history, but also makes the successful 2017 Trump tax cuts permanent and delivers significant tax relief—$600 billion, according to nonpartisan scorekeepers—to everyday Americans through policies like no taxes on tips, no taxes on overtime, tax relief for senior citizens and tax relief that makes child care more affordable and accessible.  He also cited projections that the bill’s commitment to permanence on the business side of the tax code will spur growth and increase federal revenues, noting that this dynamic growth, combined with record savings, will put the country on a better fiscal trajectory.

Full remarks as delivered:

“Mr. President, I am here to talk about the centerpiece of the reconciliation bill—making the 2017 Trump tax cuts permanent.

“The One Big Beautiful Bill prevents the largest tax hike in history and provides groundbreaking new tax relief for middle-class workers and families.

“This legislation permanently extends the Trump tax cuts, which proportionally benefited the middle-class the most. 

“If these tax cuts were allowed to expire, taxpayers in all income groups would face massive tax hikes, and a point that my colleagues on the other side seem to consistently forget, or ignore, is that the vast majority of the burden—$2.6 trillion—would fall on taxpayers making less than $400,000 per year. 

“But before I discuss what would happen, I want to address an issue that is a constant theme on the other side.  And that’s that this bill is going to be a huge increase in the deficit. 

“You heard the previous speaker say that the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has scored this bill to have a huge, multi-trillion dollar deficit increase.  The fact is that CBO has scored this bill to have a $507 billion deficit reduction.

“Later on in my remarks, I’ll point out that that score doesn’t even take into account the growth in the economy and the revenue in that will come to our treasury from revitalizing and giving a boost to our economy.

“What will happen if we don’t do this, and do what the Democrats are demanding that we do?  And that’s to let this tax increase happen, so they can say they’re going to use it to pay the deficit down. 

“The average family of four would see a tax hike of $1,700 and their child tax credit would be cut in half.

“Twenty million small business owners would face massive tax hikes, with rates up to 43 percent.

“The standard deduction, which simplifies tax filing for 90 percent of Americans, would be cut in half.

“Small businesses and farms would see their death tax exemption cut in half.

“The Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) warns this $4 trillion tax hike would also lead to an economic downturn and potential recessionary headwinds, noting the impacts would disproportionately fall on young people, minorities and workers without college degrees.

“We have been working for more than a year on legislation that prevents that outcome and provides additional tax relief specifically targeted to benefit low- and middle-income families and workers.

“Despite critics’ rhetoric about tax cuts for ‘billionaires and corporations,’ the reality is this legislation prevents massive tax hikes across the board and overwhelmingly benefits middle-class households and job creators.

“According to the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT), this bill provides more than $600 billion of new tax relief for hardworking Americans, including:

  • $73 billion in inflation tax relief targeted at income brackets below $100,000 per year.
  • $205 billion in tax relief to the 90 percent of taxpayers who claim the standard deduction.
  • $93 billion in additional tax relief for seniors through a new $6,000 bonus exemption. 
  • $124 billion investment in children of low- and middle-income families, in addition to the permanent, doubled child tax credit.

“I’m going to say that again—the permanent, doubled child tax credit.

“The significant tax relief we are providing to hardworking families includes:

  • Permanent lower tax rates, letting Americans keep more of their hard-earned money.
  • Permanent increased and enhanced standard deduction, claimed by over 90 percent of taxpayers.
  • On top of making the doubled child tax credit permanent, we are also increasing it for tens of millions of families.
  • Tax relief for seniors in the form of a $6,000 bonus exemption for low- and middle-income seniors, slashing their tax burden.
  • No tax on tips for millions of tipped workers like waitresses, barbers, hairstylists and taxi drivers.
  • No tax on overtime for millions of America’s hourly workers who work overtime and keep America running.
  • No tax on auto loan interest for new cars made in the U.S., allowing hardworking families to fully deduct auto loan interest on American-made cars.
  • Enhanced 529 education savings accounts, making education expenses more affordable and accessible for families.
  • New “Trump savings accounts” for newborns and children up to age 18, building financial security for the next generation.  
  • We make child care more accessible and affordable for working families by enhancing the child and dependent care credit, and the dependent care assistance program.

“The list goes on and on. 

“We extend the paid family and medical leave credit, and expand health savings accounts for health care expenses.

“We repeal onerous IRS reporting requirements on gig workers, reduce the paperwork burden for small businesses, and so much more.

“All of this is just on the individual side of the tax code. 

“The business side of the tax code has the potential to generate phenomenal economic growth. 

“When my Republican colleagues and I began talking about how best to extend and enhance the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, we agreed that one of our top priorities was to make it permanent.

“The reforms we made in 2017—including lower rates for corporations and small business owners, along with international tax reforms—increased domestic investment, boosted economic growth and increased take-home pay.

“A growing economy powered a strong labor market. 

“Workers saw record wage growth and the unemployment rate fell dramatically to the lowest in 50 years at 3.5 percent.

“Corporate inversions—or businesses leaving America—became a thing of the past as America became the place to do business again.  Capital formation exploded in the United States.

“Restoring these critical business provisions and making them permanent is key to driving additional growth and investment in the United States.

“For the businesses that spur investment and economic activity across the country, this bill:

  • Makes the 20 percent small business deduction permanent, enabling job creation and spurring local economic activity. 
  • Restores and makes permanent full expensing for domestic R&D, encouraging domestic innovation. 
  • Restores and makes permanent full expensing for new capital investments like machinery and equipment, boosting domestic production. 
  • Restores and makes permanent interest deductibility, helping to finance critical domestic investments and keeping America globally competitive.
  • Includes full expensing for new factories and factory improvements to accelerate domestic manufacturing. 
  • Permanently renews and enhances the Opportunity Zone program, driving $100+ billion of investment to rural and distressed communities. 

“According to the Tax Foundation, ‘Permanence for the [bill’s] four cost recovery provisions would more than double the long-run economic effect.’

“The National Association of Manufacturers predicts $248 billion in economic growth will come from the manufacturing sector alone, along with over 1 million jobs and over $100 billion in wages.

“The National Federation of Independent Businesses says making the small-business deduction permanent will create 1.2 million jobs over ten years, growing to 2.4 million jobs in the long run. 

“That growth also means more federal revenue created the right way.

“The Council of Economic Advisers estimates the tax legislation alone will drive more than $2 trillion in offsetting deficit reduction, thanks to permanent provisions that power economic growth and incentivize investment. 

“Over a ten-year window with this legislation in effect, CEA estimates debt as a share of GDP will fall to 94 percent, compared to 117 percent if the Trump tax cuts expire.

“Far from adding to the deficit, this legislation will finally put us on sound financial footing as we power economic growth and curb spending.  

“For those who claim this bill will add over $4 trillion to the deficit, it bears repeating: preventing a $4 trillion tax hike is not the same as deficit spending. 

“And to those who say we should let a $4 trillion tax hike to go into effect to pay down the national debt—every tax increase that Congress has adopted for as long as I can remember was not used to pay down the national debt. 

“It was used to increase spending.  And that is exactly what is going to happen if the Democrats have their way and force these tax hikes to happen. 

“Extending current tax policy means that tax revenue as a percent of GDP will remain relatively unchanged. 

“We do not have a revenue problem in America—we have a spending problem.

“That is why we asked JCT to score this legislation under a more realistic scenario using a current policy baseline.

“The Council of Economic Advisers estimates that making the Trump tax cuts permanent—combined with other Trump Administration pro-growth policies like regulatory reform and so forth—will increase federal revenues by more than $4 trillion, far more than offsetting any deficit estimates.

“When combined with the $1.6 trillion in spending reductions, this bill represents historic savings for taxpayers, far exceeding spending reductions in past bills by hundreds of billions of dollars.

“To achieve this record level of savings, we are slashing Biden’s Green New Deal spending and promoting America-First energy.

“We are eliminating hundreds of billions of dollars of the Green New Deal subsidies, including ending wasteful credits like the EV tax credit. 

“We stop penalizing fossil fuels in favor of unreliable and expensive green energy, and instead support consistent energy sources, making energy affordable again.

“We are also rooting out waste, fraud and abuse in federal spending programs, like Medicaid. 

“This will not reduce benefits for those who are qualified and for whom Medicaid was intended—it will reduce waste, fraud and abusive scams that are being used to get American taxpayers to funnel money into states or other programs.

“Medicaid was created to help pregnant women, children, seniors and Americans with disabilities.  We are continuing to protect them, they will not lose benefits, and the politics of fear that you hear constantly are simply false.

“But in recent years, Democrats have incentivized Medicaid to enroll healthy Americans and illegal immigrants, driving up costs for taxpayers and risking the program’s sustainability for those who need it most.

“As a result, Medicaid spending has ballooned with outlays increasing over 200 percent since 2008 and over 50 percent since 2019 alone. 

“This rate of expansion is unsustainable and puts the future of the program at risk.  

“As spending has surged, so have inappropriate payments and ineligible enrollments, along with gimmicks and loopholes. 

“People are alarmed by these statistics.  Official reports indicate the federal government made $543 billion in inappropriate Medicaid payments from 2015 through 2024.  Some experts think that number is closer to $1 trillion.  That is what we’re addressing in this legislation.

“We have a responsibility to ensure that programs like Medicaid work efficiently and effectively and remain financially viable for those it was designed to help.

“For months, my Democrat colleagues have engaged in the politics of fear, warning that Republicans are going to rip this critical program from those most in need.  

“Let me be clear: this legislation does not take Medicaid away from any recipients for whom the program was designed to help.  Children, the elderly, the disabled or infirm, adults caring for children and elderly relatives are protected by this bill.

“We would not be honoring our obligation to these recipients if we allow the program to continue to balloon, forcing vulnerable populations to compete for available resources with able-bodied adults who refuse to work.

“As one father recently wrote in the Wall Street Journal, ‘Medicaid was created to help people like my son.  He is 17, has severe autism and epilepsy and needs constant attention.  Yet thanks to Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion, he is stuck on a multiyear waiting list for in-home care because able-bodied adults are competing for the same resources.’

“CBO estimates that over 1.4 million illegal aliens are receiving Medicaid benefits.

“Brett Guthrie, the Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee in the House, correctly notes, ‘Every dollar misspent on illegal immigrants and ineligible individuals in the Medicaid program means less money going to our children, our pregnant women and mothers, individuals who are disabled, and seniors.’

“Republicans are committed to preserving and strengthening Medicaid for the people Medicaid was intended to serve. 

“That starts with making commonsense reforms to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse in the program.

“This bill targets rampant fraud in the program by removing illegal aliens, deceased recipients or those enrolled in multiple states. 

“It eliminates wasteful spending by ensuring Medicaid payments align with levels in Medicare and other spending programs, and increases the frequency of eligibility checks.

“It requires more personal accountability and promotes pathways to work for able-bodied adults. 

“The work requirements proposed in this legislation are simple: if you are an able-bodied adult without dependents, you can qualify for taxpayer-funded Medicaid by spending 20 hours per week working, participating in work training, going to school, or participating in community service or volunteer work.

“The majority of Americans agree that these rules are reasonable guardrails to protect a program designed to help the most vulnerable Americans.

“The bill also corrects abusive practices by freezing and reducing provider taxes, a financing gimmick used by states to increase the federal spending they receive.

“For those concerned about funding for rural hospitals during the transition back to responsible funding levels, the legislation creates bridge funding to help stabilize rural hospitals and enhance their long-term financial solvency.

“And while Democrats claim Republicans are slashing Medicaid spending, the reality is that even with these reforms, Medicaid spending is projected to continue to grow by billions of dollars over the next ten years. 

“Only in Washington is a smaller increase in spending considered a cut.

“In reality, these reforms will improve, protect and preserve Medicaid for the most vulnerable Americans.

“We have had a very robust debate over how best to deliver on President Trump’s agenda, and I am proud of what we achieve in this legislation.

“The tax provisions in our bill—from the permanent extension of the lower tax rates to the increased child tax credit to the permanent tax relief for businesses—will deliver financial security to American families and grow our economy.

“The health care provisions will protect and preserve Medicaid for the Americans the program was intended to serve.

“And while more work remains, this bill’s economic growth combined with deficit reduction finally puts our country on a much better fiscal trajectory.  

“Some of them have been working with us on these provisions for years, and we greatly appreciate your partnership in this effort.  I ask unanimous consent to have these individuals’ names printed in the record.

“I also have to thank my incredible staff who have forgone sleep over the past several months to provide timely, indispensable insight, facts, legislative text, counsel and so much more. 

“Without them, we would not be at this point ready to deliver this much-needed, growth-focused policy for the American people. 

“I ask unanimous consent to have the names of my entire Finance Committee staff printed in the record.

“Even with all that we accomplish in this legislation, there are dozens of additional good ideas, smart policies and commonsense reforms that we were not able to include today, and I commit to continuing to work with my colleagues to advance those goals as we move forward.

“But today’s historic legislation is more than a good start and will pay dividends for American families. 

“Extending good tax policy, delivering targeted relief and reining in wasteful spending, as achieved in this bill, is the best way to restore economic prosperity and opportunity for all Americans. 

“I look forward to getting it to the President’s desk as soon as possible.”