(NewsNation) — The GOP’s proposed budget includes efforts to lower housing and health care costs, while also cutting government spending and allocating bonuses for jurisdictions that cooperate with the federal government on deportation efforts.
The released framework for the reconciliation bill says it will cut more than $1.6 trillion in spending and reduce the deficit by more than $1 trillion. The details of proposed programs and changes are not spelled out in detail, including the logistics of how certain programs would be created or run.
While the budget proposes changes to encourage home ownership and stay-at-home parents, it also includes funding measures designed to punish states, cities and institutions that do not follow the Trump administration’s efforts on deportations and reducing immigration, restricting transgender rights and access to abortion.
To encourage home ownership, the budget proposes programs that would allow zero to low down payments on first homes, expanding mortgage portability, eliminating the capital gains tax on homes sold to first-time buyers and rental sales to tenants, the creation of home savings accounts and directing the federal government to sell or lease underused properties at a low rate.
“This is the essence of the American dream,” said Rep. August Pfleuger, R- Texas, who has led the push for the budget. “Yet, on average, first-time home buyers are 41 years old.”
The budget also proposes ending Biden-era housing regulations and the creation of a new, tax-free account for disaster recovery expenses.
The budget includes an increase in tax penalties for foreign nationals purchasing land or real estate in teh U.S. for investment purposes and a proposed 5% remittance tax on money sent by non-citizens to their country of origin.
Another proposal is for a “safe cities fund” that would give grants to cities working with the Trump administration on deportation efforts and that allow the National Guard to assist in public safety, which would account for a $1 billion increase in spending.
The plan would not allow Housing and Urban Development funds to go to sanctuary cities or cities with rent control. The plan would also keep non-permanent residents and those in the country illegally from using the low-income housing tax credit.
The budget also ends the requirement that both parents work to be eligible for the child tax credit, expands access to paid family leave, and allows households with only one working parent to contribute twice as much to 401(k)s to encourage stay-at-home parents.
The budget also moves to end the estate tax, a longstanding GOP priority. Currently, the tax only applies to individual estates valued over $15 million, or $30 million for married couples.
On health care, Republicans are proposing an option to buy health insurance with lower premiums in a separate marketplace, changing Affordable Care Act subsidies to go directly to patients, to accelerate the development of new drugs, require health insurers and providers to disclose cash prices and out-of-network access and enable patients to pay cash rates and allow pharmeceutical companies to sell directly to patients at a discount and bypass insurance.
The budget also requires pharmacy benefit managers to pass a portion of their rebates directly to patients.
The budget proposes changes to reform the child care program to prevent fraud, including making it so that foreign nationals who send money to their home country cannot receive any benefits. It would also require that federal agencies only consider U.S. citizens when deciding population-based funding streams.
The budget also includes language to make all non-citizens ineligible for government benefits. Currently, some qualified non-citizens, including aslyees, refugees and permanent residents, may qualify for some programs. It also eliminates the earned income tax credit and child tax credit for anyone who is not a legal permanent resident or anyone unauthorized to work in the U.S.
The budget also includes a penalty for states that allow people in the country without documentation to participate in state Medicaid programs. It also changes how states handle SNAP benefits and prohibits federal funding for people in the country illegally who are enrolled temporarily in Medicaid prior to formal immigration verification.
Another proposal would limit or withhold transportation funds if states grant driver’s licenses to people in the country without authorization and from sanctuary jurisdictions.
The budget would permanently freeze federal funding for abortion providers and prohibit Medicaid or ACA tax credits from paying for gender-affirming care or elective abortions. It would also tax colleges and universities that allow trans women to participate in women’s sports.
The budget also prohibits certain rules and regulations on energy, as well as deregulation and efforts to discourage lawsuits that would “undermine economic growth.” The bill also includes language that would prevent future administrations from canceling permits, licenses and private investment in fossil fuels and refilling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve with discounted Venezuelan oil.