6.27.25 - The latest on reconciliation rules & rewrites
Good morning, all,
The Senate is still racing to vote on the GOP megabill to meet President Trump’s July 4 deadline, but they face more obstacles by the day. Here’s the latest.
It’s still possible for Senate votes to occur this weekend—if/when that happens, check out our June 25 update for what to expect when the Republican megabill hits the Senate floor.
Rules are forcing rewrites
Long story short, the Senate’s parliamentarian found that a bunch of provisions in the bill violate the Senate’s rules under the fast-track reconciliation procedure Republicans are using to pass this package on a party-line vote. That does not mean those pieces get thrown out: Senate Republicans are scrambling to rewrite what they can—often called “curing” the provision”—and seeing if those edits pass muster.
Why not just throw out the pieces that don’t follow the rules? For one thing, some Senate Republicans really want those provisions in there. For another, reconciliation’s rules also dictate that a bill cannot raise the deficit after 10 years, and some of the dinged provisions make gigantic cuts Republicans likely can’t afford to give up.
For more details on the reconciliation process and its requirements, check out The Basics of Budget Reconciliation.
What won’t change
I’ll list the provisions that may be discarded or modified momentarily, but first, I’ll underscore that even if/when these aspects of the bill change, its fundamental nature will remain the same.
The Republican megabill will give more to the richest Americans, while taking from those who have the least. The Congressional Budget Office projects that the poorest 10 percent of households will lose an estimated $1,600 a year, while the richest 10 percent gain about $12,000 a year. These giveaways to the ultra-wealthy and corporations are coupled with billions of dollars for the already-bloated Pentagon budget and a new slush fund to tear apart immigrant families in violation of the law.
All of this is paid for by taking health care and food assistance from millions. Roughly 16 million people are expected to lose their health coverage under this bill, while about 8 million will be at-risk of losing food assistance.
You can find a more detailed summary of the House’s version of this GOP megabill here, and a rundown of key differences between the House and Senate versions here.
What could change
Below is a list of provisions that the Senate’s parliamentarian has ruled do not adhere to reconciliation’s rules, which of those provisions are currently being rewritten, and which of those rewrites have reportedly gotten the parliamentarian’s signoff.
Some important caveats:
The Parliamentarian is still reviewing the bill and, therefore, could ding more provisions.
Again, just because a provision has been ruled out doesn’t mean it’s going away—it could be rewritten.
The information below is based on publicly available reporting. It is very possible that additional provisions are being reworked and haven’t been reported.
This landscape is changing rapidly, so the list below can/will change. It is only accurate as of the morning (Eastern) of Friday, June 27.
All information on what’s been deemed ineligible for reconciliation to-date is sourced from the Senate Budget Committee (Ranking Member).
Provisions deemed ineligible for reconciliation, but “cured” successfully
Requiring states to cover a portion of SNAP benefits, a tremendous new burden that may force states to cut households off from food assistance or end their SNAP programs entirely (Sec. 10105) — More on cure here.
Excluding lawfully present immigrants from SNAP, with narrow exemptions (Sec. 10108) — More on cure here.
Eliminating funding for Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Sec. 30001) — More on cure here.
Provisions deemed ineligible for reconciliation, but being reworked (not yet deemed “cured”)
Reducing the cap on provider taxes that states use to finance their Medicaid programs to 3.5% in states that expanded Medicaid, which could force states to restrict the care Medicaid covers to make up for that loss (Sec. 71120)
Requiring sale of public land from U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management (Sec. 301)
Repealing authorizations for certain Inflation Reduction Act programs (Secs. 01 and 03-25)
Allowing environmental projects to pay a fee to avoid judicial review (Sec. 28)
Authorizing state border security and immigration enforcement (Sec. 90005(b))
$85 million to transfer the Space Shuttle located at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum to a Houston, Texas nonprofit (Sec. 0005)
Blocking certain federal funds from states that regulate AI (Sec. 0012)
Barring certain immigrants—including refugees and people with temporary protected status—from Medicare coverage, despite their work history and payments into Medicare (Sec. 71201)
Barring certain immigrants from tax credits and cost-sharing reductions that lower the cost of health insurance purchased through the Affordable Care Act marketplace (Sec. 71301)
Barring certain immigrants from tax credits that lower the cost of health insurance purchased through the Affordable Care Act marketplace if they have been deemed ineligible for Medicaid because of their immigration status (Sec. 71302)
Provisions deemed ineligible for reconciliation and aren’t reportedly being reworked at the time of publication
Prohibiting Medicaid and CHIP coverage for gender-affirming care (Sec. 71117)
Reducing federal Medicaid payments to states based on those states' provision of Medicaid coverage to undocumented individuals using state funding (Sec. 71111)
Blocking federal funding for states that provide Medicaid coverage for certain immigrants (Sec. 71110)
Requiring changes to pharmacy reimbursement methodologies (Sec. 71116)
Barring immigrants from Medicaid and CHIP coverage if their immigration status cannot be verified immediately, eliminating current 90-day verification period (Sec. 71109)
Repealing limits on air pollution emissions for passenger vehicles (Sec. 27)
Cutting appropriations for Department of Defense if spending plans are late (Sec. 20014)
Cutting Office of Financial Research funding (Sec. 30004)
Eliminating Public Company Accounting Oversight Board and transferring its authority to the Security and Exchange Commission (Sec. 30005)
Cutting pay and benefits for Federal Reserve employees (Sec. 30002)
Disqualifying student loan payments made during medical and dental internships and residencies from Public Service Loan Forgiveness (Sec. 82004(b))
Expanding Pell Grants to programs at unaccredited and for-profit institutions (Sec. 83002)
Changing funding structure for cost-sharing reduction payments to Affordable Care Act marketplace insurers to end so-called "silver-loading" (Sec. 87001)
Barring cost-sharing reduction payments to qualified health plans that cover abortion care (Sec. 87001)
Barring certain immigrants from federal student aid (Sec. 80001)
Limiting student loan repayment plan options for current borrowers (Sec. 82001)
Requiring Secretary of Interior to hold geothermal lease sales annually (Secs. 305-306)
Allowing natural gas exporters to pay fees to expedite project approvals (Sec. 401)
Prohibiting Secretary of Interior from reducing fees for solar and wind projects on Bureau of Land Management land (Subsection 303(e))
Designating offshore oil and gas projects as automatically compliant with the National Environmental Policy Act (Subsec. 102(b)(4) & (5))
Mandating offshore oil and gas leasing (Subsec. 102(b)(6))
Requiring permit for Ambler Road, a mining road in Alaska (Sec. 201)
Imposing $350 filing fee for federal employees to file cases with Merit Systems Protection Board (Sec. 90102)
Reducing take-home pay for new federal employees unless they forego civil service protections (Sec. 90101)
Allowing agencies to rescind appropriated funds via incentive program for federal employees to find "unnecessary expenditures" (Sec. 90105)
Charging federal employee unions fees for labor representatives' use of official time and resources (Sec. 90106)
Allowing the executive branch to reorganize federal agencies—including abolishing agencies—without Congress' approval (Sec. 90107)
Requiring U.S. Postal Service to sell all electric vehicles and related infrastructure (Section 90109(a)-(c))
Barring federal agency from carrying out rules with any budgetary impact unless explicitly required by law (Section 90201)
Restricting federal courts' ability to issue preliminary injunctions or temporary restraining orders against the federal government (Sec. 203)
Blocking grant funding for "sanctuary cities" (Sec. 154)
Authorizing state and local law enforcement to arrest noncitizens suspected of being undocumented (Sec. 155)
Limiting federal government entrance into and enforcement of certain settlement agreements (Sec. 301)
$250 million for a fire-damaged Coast Guard station on South Padre Island, Texas (Sec. 0001(a)(10)(E))
Extending suspension of permanent price support authority, typically addressed in the Farm Bill (Sec. 10314)
Creating private school voucher program (Sect. 70411)
Exempting certain religious schools from income tax on college endowments (Secs. 70415(c)(1)(C)(ii) and 70415(c)(1)(D))
Deregulating gun silencers (Sec. 70436)
Adding pre-certification process for Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) (Sec. 70613(a))
Increasing fine and imprisonment penalties for disclosing taxpayer information (Sec. 70615)
If you’d like a live update for your group or coalition, reach out to catherine@progressivecaucuscenter.org. Thanks!